The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau of Macau (DICJ) has imposed some restrictions on local gambling operators under which the latter are prevented from sharing any information about gambling operations or activities, including customer personal details to third parties.
The newly-announced restrictions also cover junket operators in Macau.
According to the Macau News Agency, a local media outlet which also claims to had seen the original regulatory document, the new restrictions came into force on Monday, September 23rd.
The move is made as part of the DICJ’s efforts to ensure better protection for customers’ private information. The new strategy unveiled by the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau focused on the quantity of information which is allowed to be provided to third parties based in Macau or abroad has been compared to some measures taken by other authorities across the world, such as the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (GDPR) unveiled by the European Union. In fact, the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA), which is actually a GDPR-like framework, has been in force for years, but the local gambling regulatory body was willing to make sure there is a more precise and in-depth regulation to provide customers with the best protection available.
The new strategy of the Macau gambling regulator applies to all casino, gaming/gambling providers and junket operators, which are not expected to stop providing and/or exchanging any information with third-party organizations, no matter if those organizations are based inside or outside of the autonomous coastal region of China.
New Restrictions Unveiled as Part of DICJ’s Efforts to Protect Gambling Customers
As stated by the DICJ, no information about gamblers or their activities would be allowed to be distributed to third parties, including but not limited to players’ personal details, nationality or place of origin, occupation, gambling activity and other information associated with their game such as time of entry into and out of the gambling venue, amount of bets, amount of the bets placed, overall credit, received winnings, etc.
Of course, there could be some exclusions from the stricter regime, but such authorization may be given only with the consent of the interested parties and in line with the provisions of Macau’s Personal Data Protection Act. The gambling regulator would also be required to give approval to exchange information for each query.
Also, in a written reply to the Macau News Agency, Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau has explained that the implementation of the new instruction does not suspend the transfer of information but imposes the necessity for permission from the gaming regulator in terms of such information transfers for gambling operators and promoters. That is exactly why such requests would be taken into consideration by the DICJ within the scope of the existing legal provisions. The gambling regulatory body further explained that the new instruction is aimed at making sure that any information transfers to third parties were carried out under the relevant Macau laws.
As mentioned above, gambling regulators based in Macau are already expected to comply with the provisions of the Personal Data Protection Act of Macau when sharing information about their activities.
