In Macau, new legislation that prohibits employees of the city’s many locally-licensed junket firms and casinos from setting foot on a gaming floor outside of their normal working hours has reportedly come into force.

According to a Friday report from GGRAsia, the controversial prohibition was ratified by the enclave’s 33-member Legislative Assembly last December and applies to approximately 54,000 people including table game dealers and those working in non-gaming roles within casinos such as food service, cleaning and cage operations.

Sweeping sanction:

GGRAsia cited an explanation from the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau regulator as detailing that the new prohibition began yesterday and moreover encompasses those employed in public relations and surveillance roles for casinos and junket firms in Macau.

Thorough preparation:

The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau reportedly also stated that it has been conducting a series of in-house training schemes over the past year to help casino staff implement the new rules and that its inspectors are now in charge of determining whether the embargo is being ‘properly enforced’.

Potential problems:

However, GGRAsia reported that the refreshed gaming floor rules have not been accompanied by the establishment of a database to list potentially excluded players while the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau is said to have furthermore declared that it has ‘no intention’ of requiring casinos to enforce the new prohibition via the use of facial recognition technology.

Finally, GGRAsia reported that draft legislation concerning the updated regulations was unanimously passed by Macau lawmakers in July of 2018 after official data indicated that the majority of locals who had sought help for problem gambling between 2011 and 2017 had been casino employees.