Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) has turned its attention to online gaming websites, warning the public to be wary of sites wrongly claiming to be licensed by the Macau government.
“The Macau government has never issued any online interactive gaming license to any companies,” the DICJ said in a statement on Friday. “Hence, all online interactive gambling websites in Macau are considered illegal operations.”
But what, exactly, constitutes an illegal website?
There are two points here that the public can take as fact – that the Macau government does not license online gaming sites and that any site which claims otherwise is lying.
However, there are plenty of countries that do license online gaming sites, including the Philippines, and it’s important to distinguish between these sites and the ones making wrong and outrageous claims as to their legitimacy.
Reputable sites such as M88 and 918.com among many others are all licensed by the Philippines’ First Cagayan Leisure and Resort Corporation and in that respect are perfectly legal.
But here’s where it gets confusing. Just because a government in one country licenses a site doesn’t mean it is legal for you to play it anywhere in the world. In some countries it will still be illegal for you to play it. In others it will be legal for you to play but illegal for the gaming site operator to make it available to you. And in some there are no restrictions whatsoever.
Often the precise laws can be somewhat murky so whatever country you are in, if you’re unsure, the best thing to do is take the time to find out exactly what the laws in your country do or don’t allow.
