Professor Jorge Godinho of the University of Macau unveiled the first volume of a planned trilogy on Macau’s gaming law and history on Wednesday evening at the Rui Cunha Foundation.
Godinho spent five years with the Monetary Authority of Macau and two decades researching criminal, international and European criminal law.
He said the opening book “deals in a more conceptual and broad area, discussing the gaming contracts” while emphasizing the region’s 1920s and 1930s gambling scene.
The initial volume blends legal analysis with a narrative of early casinos, when local authorities limited play to Fan-tan and repeatedly rebuffed proposals to introduce roulette. Those attempts, driven by local governors, were consistently denied by the Portuguese authorities.
He plans a second volume next year that will examine “the different segments of the gaming industry, games of chance, multiple bets, lottery, sport betting,” and a third that will focus on “the penal area and money laundering.”
The book, edited by the foundation, also surveys the broader history of Macau’s gaming sector. “It’s important to know the past so the same mistakes are not made again,” the professor noted, adding that the territory’s gambling past “is really diverse and has many turns, but there’s not a lot of research into it.”
Historical records show that economic diversification was discussed for decades, with the Portuguese colonial government viewing gambling as a temporary enterprise and hoping the city would outgrow its reliance on casino revenue.
For local entrepreneurs, the book offers a concrete reminder that past diversification attempts were blocked not merely by policy but by the low profitability of games like Fan-tan, which pushed business leaders to lobby for broader offerings.
Understanding those factors could help current stakeholders avoid repeating ineffective strategies.
The professor explained that, despite hopes in the first half of the 20th century that new industries, navigation and harbor development would lessen gambling’s grip, the goal never materialized. In the 1960s, the authorities finally approved expanded gaming, cementing the sector’s dominance.
The launch event featured a brief Q&A, after which attendees received copies of the book, which aims to fill a scholarly gap on Macau’s gambling evolution.
Attendees received copies of the book.
