澳门如何更好管理赌场内贵宾厅 达至经济适度多元化？
澳门最近关闭了一些赌场贵宾室和强调与横琴的合作，可以分析出一整套影响澳门的管理问题──即对赌场内一些由中介经营的「贵宾厅」进行更优化和更严格的管理，从而有效过渡到制定和实施经济「适度」多元化的政策。在这个艰难的转型过程中，澳门政府及社会必须处理多方面的问题，从更全面、更深入的政策规划到对不同经济部门的广泛调查，以便获得足够的统计数据，以便为制定澳门特别行政区的政策进行更科学的研究。
首先，在澳门赌场授权经营贵宾厅的博彩中介人（俗称叠码仔）产生的问题，已经暴露了澳门赌场内存在授权经营「贵宾厅」这令人困惑的问题。最重要的是，这些赌场内的一些「贵宾厅」已经自行「成长」了，据称它们的营销和博彩业务不仅扩展到内地，还扩展到海外，并吸引内地赌客参与赌博活动，唯根据内地的《刑法》会被视为非法。
一些澳门博彩公司似乎缺乏政治敏感度，即是说，赌博在内地一直被视为犯罪，当局自2021年1月以来一直在打击跨境赌博，包括互联网赌博。澳门的赌场资本家，包括那些经营贵宾厅和赌场特许经营权的商人，不仅要对大陆的《刑法》，且对澳门赌博业的经济安全性都必须保持高度敏感。具体而言，在澳门赌钱，有些人往往会涉及危害中央和国家经济安全的风险，尤其是那些落重注豪赌的内地客，很可能涉及跨境洗钱和挪用公款。
为了堵住赌场内有许多「贵宾厅」的漏洞，澳门政府必须与私营赌场特许经营商合作，审查赌博中介人、赌场特许经营商和政府之间复杂的三角合约关系。澳门公共行政部门或许可以更轻松、更有效地管理政府与赌场特许经营商之间的契约关系。然而，正如终审法院对中介人赌厅多金娱乐（Dore Entertainment）一案的裁决所显示的那样，赌场特许经营商与营运贵宾厅的博彩中介人之间的合同关系似乎更为复杂。
过去，赌场特许经营商认为贵宾厅对大赌客具有吸引力，藉着利用赌博中介人作为营销机构，提升赌场的市占率和利润。然而，意想不到的是，博彩中介人可能会过度成长，以致他们的「帝国」可能被内地执法部门视为「存在违反内地法律法规」的风险。因此，澳门赌场业界的精英，有迫切需要定期了解内地的法律法规，慎思明辩其推广赌博的手法，是否超出合理范围，同时增强对於赌博的政治敏感度──毕竟赌博在内地仍属非法。
根据《中华人民共和国刑法》303条规定，「以营利为目的，聚众赌博、开设赌场或者以赌博为业的，处三年以下有期徒刑、拘役或者管制，并处罚金」。最重要的是，2020年12月对法律条文的修订，可能被澳门的许多赌场资本家、经理人和中介人所忽略。具体内容如下：「以营利为目的，聚众赌博或以赌博为业者，可处三年以下有期徒刑、拘捕、管制，并处罚金。开设赌场的，处五年以下有期徒刑、拘役或者管制，并处罚金；情节严重的，处五年以上十年以下有期徒刑，并处罚金。」
目前还不清楚澳门赌场业界的所有精英是否都清楚内地《刑法》303条的修正案。理想情况下，澳门的赌场特许经营商及其相关博彩中介人，应该深入研究内地政府如何更新、修订和实施与赌博有关的刑法。
内地公安部在2021年2月5日发布的另一项非常重要的通告，可能会被澳门赌业界所忽略。通告称，「一些境外赌博集团继续拉拢诱骗中国公民出境或在网上参与博彩业经营服务，或为其提供资金流……」
公安部联合各部门打击跨境赌博，出台六点通告。通告首先针对「赌博罪、开设赌场罪的犯罪嫌疑人，以及关联犯罪的犯罪嫌疑人」；其次呼吁疑犯投案自首，「可以依法从轻或者减轻处罚；情节较轻的，可以依法免除处罚」；三是先以信函、电话、电报、电子邮件等方式投案，随後到案的，视为自动投案；经亲友规劝、陪同投案的，或者亲友主动报案後才投案的，视为自动投案；四是疑犯到案後「有检举、揭发他人犯罪行为，经查证属实的，以及提供重要线索，从而得以侦破其他案件，或者积极协助司法机关抓获其他犯罪嫌疑人等立功表现的，可以依法从轻或者减轻处罚；有重大立功表现的，可以依法减轻或者免除处罚」；五是呼吁疑犯「要认清形势，珍惜机会，尽快投案自首，争取从宽处理。在规定期限内拒不投案自首的，司法机关将依法惩处」；六是鼓励个人和有关组织举报在逃疑犯，规劝在逃疑犯投案自首，司法机关将保护举报人及其他有关证人；对威胁、报复举报人、控告人，构成犯罪的，依法追究刑事责任。
通告正式公布施行後，内地多个城市跟进，暗示不同城市均可能有公民和官员参与跨境赌博活动。
今年1至9月，内地检察机关共起诉涉国（境）外犯罪（涉外犯罪、涉港澳犯罪）1.33万人，其中开设赌场罪1376人，占比10.32%。当局又指，新型开设赌场犯罪具有较强的「欺骗性和隐蔽性」。可见，内地政府显然已将跨境赌博视为严重的刑事犯罪。
然而，赌场内「贵宾厅」的管理危机，可以转化为澳门发展经济「适度」多元化的黄金机会。根据2021年9月上旬公布的《横琴粤澳深度合作区建设总体方案》，确定经济多元化四大领域──科技创新和高端制造业；中医药的发展；拓展文化旅游、会展、贸易等领域，以及现代金融和货币部门的发展、大健康的发展，都需要非常详细的规划和制定政策。到目前为止，澳门政府将如何针对这些领域提出具体计划和制定政策，仍有待观察。
进行更好的规划、与持份者更深入地谘询，以及成立相关工作组或委员会将是迫切和必要的，以帮助澳门设计从传统对赌场资本主义的依赖，过渡到「经济适度多元化」的进程。然而，到目前为止，澳门政府似乎更专注於防控新冠疫情及与内地和香港边境通关的事宜。
综上所述，如果能将赌场特许经营「贵宾厅」的危机转化为激发澳门优势和潜力的大好机会，当地「经济适度多元化」可能会取得重大突破，从而最大限度地减少传统上对赌场资本主义的过分依赖，获得更健康、更均衡的经济发展。这一潜在的突破，很大程度上取决於对调查数据的急切和系统性收集、社会和经济持份者的广泛协商、建立推动经济多元化四个领域发展所必需的委员会、更好的战略规划引进内地人才，最重要的是，以更有组织的方式与澳门的大学就如何培养所需的人才类型进行协调和沟通，使澳门摆脱对赌场资本主义的过度依赖，进入下一阶段的经济腾飞。在澳门，政治意向和愿景，以及制定和实施更好的政策势在必行。
The recent closure of some VIP rooms and the emphasis on Macau-Hengqin cooperation can be analytically put together as a whole package of governing issues with implications for Macau: namely the effective transition from a much better and tighter management of some “casinos” within casino franchises to the formulation and implementation of “suitable” economic diversification. During this difficult transition, the Macau government and its society must manage a multiplicity of issues, ranging from a more comprehensive and much deeper policy planning to an extensive survey of different economic sectors so that sufficient statistical data will be available for a more “scientific” policy making for the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR).
First and foremost, the problems emanating from the gaming promoters, which have possessed VIP rooms under Macau’s casino concessionaries, have already exposed the baffling problem of Macau witnessing “casinos” exist within casino franchises. Most significantly, a few of these “casinos” within casinos have outgrown themselves, allegedly extending their marketing and gaming businesses not only into the mainland but also to the overseas, where mainland gamblers were lured into the gaming activities, which however are seen as illegal in accordance with the mainland’s criminal law. Some Macau-based gaming promoters appeared to lack the political sensitivity that gambling is constantly regarded as a crime in mainland China, where its ruling authorities have since January 2021 cracked down on cross-border gambling和记娱乐网站 , including Internet gambling. Macau’s casino capitalists, including those operating VIP rooms and casino concessionaries, must be highly sensitive to not only the mainland’s criminal law but also the economic securitization of Macau’s gambling sector. Specifically, gambling in the MSAR often entails the risk of endangering the economic national security of the central government, especially if gamblers are from the mainland and if they may engage in massive gambling with the implications of cross-border money laundering and siphoning off the mainland’s financial coffers.
To plug the loophole of having many “casinos” within casinos, the Macau government must work with the private-sector casino concessionaries to review the complex triangular contractual relationships between the gaming promoters, casino concessionaries and the government. The contractual relations between the government and the casino concessionaries can perhaps be managed more easily and effectively by the Macau public administration itself. However, the contractual relationships between casino concessionaries and gaming promoters coping with the VIP rooms appear to be more complex, as the Court of Final Appeal’s decision on the Dore Entertainment case showed.
In the past, casino concessionaries saw VIP rooms as being attractive to big rollers, utilizing the gaming promoters as marketing agencies to boost their market and profits. However, the unintended consequences were that gaming promoters could overgrow in such a proportion that their “empire” could be regarded by the mainland law-enforcement authorities as running the risk of violating the mainland law and regulations. As such, it is urgent for the elites of the Macau casino sector to understand the content of the mainland law and regulations regularly, to critically reflect on whether its gaming promotion might grow out of its proportion, and to reinforce the political sensitivity that gambling remains a crime in the mainland.
Article 303 of China’s Criminal Law says: “Whoever, for the purpose of reaping profits, assembles a crowd to engage in gambling, opens a gambling house, or makes an occupation of gambling is to be sentenced to not more than three years of fixed-term imprisonment, criminal detention, or control, in addition to fine.” Above all, an amendment made in December 2020 of Article might have been ignored by many casino capitalists, managers, and promoters in Macau. Specificallyhj88 , the amendment is as follows: “Using profits as the motive, those who gather people to gamble or rely on gambling as their profession can be imprisoned for 3 years or below, arrested, controlled or fined. Those who open gambling houses can be imprisoned for 5 years or less, arrested, controlled, or fined. For serious cases, those who are involved can be imprisoned for five years above or ten years below, in addition to the fine.”
It was unclear whether the amendment to the mainland Chinese Criminal Law was made known to all the elites in the Macau casino sector. Ideally, Macau’s casino concessionaries and their related gaming promoters should conduct intensive research on how the mainland government has been updating, amending, and implementing its criminal law relating to gambling.
Another very important notice issued by the mainland’s Ministry of Public Security (MPS) on February 5, 2021, might be neglected by the Macau casino sector. The notice said that some “syndicates outside the territory [of China] attracted gambling and absorbed money for a long period of time (公安部新闻发布会通报两高一部印发敦促跨境赌博犯罪嫌疑人投案自首的通告等情况(nia.gov.cn), February 6, 2021).”
The MPS cooperated with various departments to combat cross-border gambling, coming up with a six-point notice. The notice firstly “targets those suspected criminals opening casinos and those who are involved;” secondly “appeals to these people to surrender themselves voluntarily” with the possibility of reducing their sentences; thirdly “designates the methods of surrendering themselves” through letters, phone calls, telegrams and emails; fourthly “reduces the sentences of those who surrender themselves and who make contributions to the situation and policy by exposing others’ illegal acts and providing important clues for the crackdown of cases;” fifthly “empowers the judicial branch to penalizes severely those who do not surrender themselves within a specified period;” and sixthly “encourages individuals and organizations involved to report on those who are at large or who intimidate or retaliate against those becoming whistleblowers (Ibid).” Once this notice was officially published, many mainland cities publicized it, implying that different cities perhaps had citizens and officials who might be involved in cross-border gambling activities.
On November 29, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate made an important revelation that, from January to September 2021, the procuratorate agencies in the mainland prosecuted 13,300 people, including those who were involved in criminal cases in Hong Kong and Macau, and embracing 1,376 people who opened gambling houses. Moreover, the “new” style of opening casino gambling was “deceptive and hidden (最高人民检察院：新型开设赌场犯罪集团化特徵明显危害严重(yahoo.com), November 29, 2021).” Clearly, the mainland government has seen cross-border gambling as a serious criminal offence.
Yet, the crisis of governing “casinos” within casinos can be turned into a golden opportunity for Macau to develop “suitable” economic diversification. According to the plan of cooperation between Macau and Hengqin published in early September 2021, the designation of four areas of economic diversification – technological innovation and high-ended manufacturing sector; the development of Chinese medicine; the expansion of cultural tourism, convention, exhibition and trade sectors; the development of modern financial and monetary sector; and the development of big health – will require very detailed planning and policy formulation. So far, it remains to be seen how the Macau government will come up with concrete plans and policy formulation on each of these areas.
The call for economic diversification in Macau began in July 2008, when the former Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping visited the MSAR; nevertheless, little was done until September 2021 when the central government published the Macau-Hengqin cooperation plan in a top-down manner. Progressively speaking, the Macau government should establish several committees to co-opt the industrial, economic and societal elites in different occupation sectors to figure out (1) the manpower needed to boost the four areas of development; (2) the number of local and mainland talents who may be needed; and (3) the timetable for the MSAR to implement “a suitable degree of economic diversification.” Otherwise, if Macau’s gambling sector is encountering the prospects of a shrinking market partly due to Covid-19 and partly due to the complexities in managing “casinos” within casinos, the current crisis cannot be seized as an opportunity to redevelop, re-energize and re-invigorate Macau’s economy.
Statistically speaking, the recent document on Macau’s talent development has lacked concrete statistical figures in many areas: (1) the number and proportion of mainland graduates from Macau’s local universities who are staying and working in Macau’s varying economic sectors; (2) the number and types of graduates from Macau’s universities who will be required to fill in the four key areas of economic diversification in the coming five to ten years; (3) market analyses and manpower projections of the appropriate number of talents needed for the development of the four areas of economic diversification; and (4) the key private-sector organizations, including from Macau and the mainland, that will play a key role in the advancement in each of the four sectors.
Much better planning, more intensive consultation with the stakeholders, and the establishment of task forces or committees concerned will be urgent and necessary to help Macau engineer a transition from its traditional dependence on casino capitalism to the process of “suitable economic diversification.” Statistical date must be collected through proper sources, including census, surveys, annual reports of local universities, and targeted surveys of different occupational sectors through the assistance of economic interest groups. However, so far it seems that the Macau government is preoccupied with the issue of managing Covid-19 and its border opening with the mainland and later Hong Kong.
In conclusion, if the crisis of managing “casinos” within casino concessionaries can be turned into a golden opportunity of galvanizing the strengths and potentials of Macau, its “suitable economic diversification” will likely achieve a significant breakthrough, thereby minimizing its traditional overdependence on casino capitalism and developing a more healthy and balanced economic development. This potential breakthrough depends much on the urgent and systematic collection of survey data, the extensive consultation of various stakeholders in the society and economy, the establishment of committees necessary to propel the development of the four areas of economic diversification, a much better strategic planning on the import of mainland talents, and above all, a more organized way of coordinating and communicating with local universities on how to train the types of local talents required to bring Macau to the next phase of economic take-off away from its overdependence on casino capitalism. Political will 赌场 and vision as well as much better policy formulation and 赌场 implementation are imperative in Macau.
