While it is clear that Beijing’s anti-corruption crackdown on the Macau industry has caused the casino industry to suffer its biggest market slump, questions must also be raised about Macau’s gambling regulations that allowed corrupt officials and VIP gamblers to use the casino industry to commit money laundering, racketeering and human trafficking acts.

The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau of Macau recently appointed Paulo Martins Chan as its new director after Manuel Joaquim das Neve decided to retire after serving the Bureau for close to twenty years. Joaquim das Neve has been recognized in the past for playing an instrumental role in transforming Macau’s gambling industry and turning it into the biggest gambling hub in the world.

There are also many who would argue that Joaquim das Neve could have implemented stricter regulation that would have reined in Macau’s casino industry and ensured that casinos were governed by policies and procedures that ensured there was no room for manipulation.

The new director Martins Chan has taken over when Macau’s casino industry is going through a critical phase and Chan has promised to make changes to Macau’s gaming laws to make sure there are robust procedures in place for Macau’s casinos to once again flourish and be a force on the international scene.

Chan has a strong reputation in the gambling industry and has written a chapter on “Casino Crimes in Macau” which was published in a book called “Studies on Macau Gaming Law”. Chan speaks Portuguese and Mandarin which are the two main languages in Macau and is also fluent in English. Chan is well qualified with a bachelor’s law degree and a master’s in criminal.

Macau’s government has asked for a detailed “mid-term review” report on the gaming industry which is being carried out by the University of Macau. The report is expected to be completed and released by the middle of 2016 and Chan has stated that he will use the findings in this report to recommend and make changes to the existing Macau gambling framework.

Lionel Leong Vai Tac, the Secretary for Economy and Finance in Macau thanked the former director Joaquim das Neve for his contributions to Macau’s gambling industry and also welcomed the new director Chan. The secretary stated that Chan would do a great job as the new director and his background in law and his ability to speak three languages would be very beneficial to the Bureau.

In a statement, Vai Tac said “I am convinced that DICJ, under the leadership of Mr. Paulo Chan, will fulfill its tasks and contribute to strengthening supervision of the gaming sector and improving related laws and regulations.”