Macau sharpens control of “overseas-player” casino revenue with daily checks and audits

In a formal reply to lawmakers, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) says operators must follow DICJ-approved procedures and internal audit mechanisms, while the regulator conducts daily verification of gaming revenue attributed to foreign visitors.

Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) has set out tougher operational controls over how casino operators classify and report gross gaming revenue generated by “clients from foreign countries,” including daily verification by the regulator and audit checks tied to any request for contribution relief.

The clarification comes in a written response signed by DICJ director Ng Wai Han on 21 January 2026, answering a question from Legislative Assembly member José Pereira Coutinho. The DICJ explains that Macau’s Chief Executive may grant reductions or exemptions on certain gaming-related contributions in the public interest, including for the expansion of foreign customer markets, under the gaming law framework and related administrative rules.

Crucially, the DICJ reiterates that the current relief mechanism applies only to gross gaming revenue generated by foreign customers who have actually entered Macau. The definition referenced in the response describes foreign customers as visitors entering the Macau SAR for tourism or business and holding travel documents issued by a country or region outside the People’s Republic of China.

To support that classification, the regulator says concessionaires are required to establish standard operating procedures and regular internal audit mechanisms to ensure transactions and gaming activity attributed to overseas customers match the legal definition and that records remain accurate and complete. Those procedures and audit mechanisms must be approved in advance by the DICJ, after which the bureau “will continue” daily assessment and verification of the relevant overseas-player gaming revenue figures.

When an operator applies for a reduction or exemption, the DICJ says it will also verify the supporting documents and information submitted and can conduct audits including random checks of player identification data and gaming records to confirm the revenue truly originates from qualifying foreign visitors. The regulator adds that operators’ foreign-market expansion plans were written into their concession bids and incorporated into concession contracts, with ongoing government supervision of those obligations.

For Macau’s casinos, the message is that “international” revenue claims are no longer just a marketing KPI: they are a compliance dataset subject to daily scrutiny, with eligibility for relief depending on provable customer status and auditable records.