Macau legislators have complained about slot machine malfunctions in the booming casino enclave, saying players are unhappy and the city’s reputation is suffering.
The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, the agency responsible for regulating the industry, confirmed that 133 malfunctions occurred between 2012 and May of this year. But in an appearance before the Legislative Assembly to address the issue, bureau chief Manuel Joaquim das Neves characterized them as mostly “minor” and rarely involving jackpot payouts.
Of those that did, “The usual practice of the gaming concessionaire is to settle the payout with the patron instantly through hand-pay by a slot attendant,” he said.
He said the agency was called to intervene in three cases. The most publicized recently was in May, when a number of Aristocrat slots were switched off following a dispute with a player who claimed to have won jackpots totaling more than HKD20 million (US$2.58 million) in a one-week period at The Venetian Macao and MGM Macau.
The bureau confirmed that independent testing laboratories GLI and BMM International examined the machines and confirmed that they had malfunctioned.
Critics claim that cases of non-payment in the event of malfunction damage the image of Macau, and legislator Au Kam San has called for a rewriting of the regulation overseeing the circumstances in which casinos could refuse payment.
Neves said the government couldn’t force concessionaires to pay jackpots that result from malfunctions.
“Malfunctions are very rare and there is regulation to tackle these cases,” he said.
He also disagreed with lawmaker Jose Pereira Coutinho’s suggestion that the city set up its own testing laboratory.
“Most jurisdictions that had their own laboratories have closed them and now rely on international laboratories. GLI and BMM are recognized by most jurisdictions and their credibility is unquestionable,” he said.
