A fine for illegal smoking rooms in Macau's casinos will be 200,000 patacas

From January 1, 2019, the illegal smoking rooms of the Macau casino face a fine of 200,000 patacas, as well as forced closure of the premises.

The new bill is aimed to control smoking expands also on non-smoking areas throughout the city, including a ban on smoking in the VIP halls of gambling establishments. The government adopted a legislative act on January 1 of the current year, but casino operators received additional time in amout of 12 months to implement all regulatory requirements.

According to the Bureau of Health, only 27 out of 47 Macau gambling establishments applied for 404 specialized premises for smoking before the deadline - September 28th. To date, only 12 of them have been approved.

The Health Bureau added that they would continue to accept and process applications in strict accordance with the established procedure.

“If the information submitted is accurate and complies with legal requirements, smoking premises in gambling establishments can be licensed and started to be used from or before January 1, 2019 after consulting with the Department of the Ministry of Transport and Public Works of Macau, the Gambling Inspection and Coordination Bureau, as well as the Office of the Fire Service," - was reported in the Bureau of Health.

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