Macau: From Portuguese Colony to Chinese Casino City

Less than a century ago, Macau was a sleepy fishing village. Today, it’s the biggest gambling hub, with dazzling casinos & glamorous resorts. But how did this tiny territory achieve this remarkable transformation?

What Is Macau

Macau is a special administrative region of China, which means it has its own government & laws.

Macau is a tiny but mighty gambling mecca on the south coast of China, just across the water from Hong Kong. It’s made up of a peninsula and two islands, Taipa and Coloane.

Map of Macau

Macau is famous for its dazzling casinos, as well as its unique mix of Chinese & Portuguese culture (Ruins of St. Paul’s, the A-Ma Temple, and the Senado Square).

Macau’s Gambling Roots

Macau’s gambling history goes way back to the 1850s, when it was a Portuguese colony. The Portuguese didn’t mind letting people gamble in Macau, as long as they got a cut of the profits. They also gave a monopoly to Stanley Ho, a local tycoon who dominated the industry for decades. He built casinos, hotels, and ferries that attracted gamblers from Hong Kong and mainland China.

Stanley Ho — godfather of gambling in Macau

Gambling Revolution

But everything changed in 1999, when China took over the former Portuguese colony and ended the 40-year monopoly of Stanley Ho’s Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau (STDM) in 2002. China opened up the market to foreign operators and investors, who brought new ideas and innovations to Macau’s casinos. They built mega-resorts that offered more than just gambling, such as:

These operators also tapped into the huge demand from mainland Chinese gamblers, who accounted for over 90% of Macau’s visitors in 2019. Macau’s gambling revenue soared from $5.1 billion in 2002 to $36.6 billion in 2019, making it the world’s largest gambling hub.

Casino MGM Macau

Gambling Explosion

Macau’s gambling industry went from zero to hero in the 2000s and 2010s, thanks to the liberalization and innovation of its operators. It left Las Vegas in the dust as the world’s largest gambling market in 2006 and never looked back. In 2013, it made $45 billion in revenue, 7 times more than Las Vegas. It also attracted visitors from other countries, such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea.

View of Macau

Challenges and Opportunities

Macau’s gambling industry faced some challenges and risks in the 2010s, mainly from China’s anti-corruption campaign. China cracked down on money laundering in 2013, which scared away some of the VIPs who accounted for 2/3 of Macau’s gaming revenue. 

But Macau also reinvented itself with new and dazzling resorts, such as the $4.1 billion Wynn Palace in 2016 and others that featured:

• The Parisian Macao (the large hotel and casino)
• Casino Galaxy Macau
• Casino City of Dreams

The Parisian Macao

However, Macau also faced some disasters, such as Typhoon Hato in 2017.

Macau’s Gambling Troubles

Macau’s gambling industry hit rock bottom in 2020, when the pandemic shut down its casinos and scared off its visitors from mainland China. The city’s gaming revenue tanked by 79% to $7.6 billion, the lowest since 2006.

Interesting Facts

• Macau has the world’s highest density of ATMs, with 254 for every 100k people.
• Macau is the only place where casino gambling is legal in China. It has been called the “Las Vegas of the East” and the “Vegas of China”.
• Macau was the first and last European colony on mainland Asia. It was leased to Portugal in 1557 and returned to China in 1999.