Ban on Proxy Betting Doesn’t Add Up

Posted on September 14, 2017 by Jared Bates — No Comments ↓

Many people are interested in betting, but they just don’t want to engage with the corrupt, the crowds, or breaking the local laws…

In comes the salesman, “If you happen to be among this lot, then you should not be worried as you can get a casino gaming fix the very moment that you need it. You will completely control it, and it is totally legal for now, not unless the authorities think otherwise. This gaming fix is none other than proxy betting which has gained popularity right from mainland China, to the high rollers of Macau, and one day to the USA.”

This new type of betting poses a challenge to those who are working towards controlling money laundering as well as creating new opportunities for casino operators to engage the customers more and expand their profits. Research shows that Macau’s proxy betting volume increased by 15% in last year. This led to a drop of 40 percent tax revenue. It was also noted that approximately 8 percent of the tax revenue came from proxy betting before it was banned by the government. In actual figures, this revenue collected from proxy betting totaled to $1.25 billion by the start of 2017.

Online Betting Versus Proxy Betting

Proxy betting involves an interested person outside the casino giving instructions to an agent in the casino probably via mobile phones or any other form of communication. The casino agent is supposed to place a bet on behalf of the client. The casino agent who now acts as a trusted friend places a bet and collects any winnings. This is what the legal standpoint claims and thus making it different from online betting as with online betting as in online betting the client can place the bet for themselves. Online betting has become quite popular in Asia and Europe.

Online betting, however, have some issues which may not be the case with proxy betting. With online betting, the clients have to establish and deposit funds on the online betting account so that they can be able to participate in the actual betting. It also needs very advanced and even complicated software to facilitate digital betting and account management. On the contrast, proxy betting just required the casino agent to take the video streaming from the tables. This was however not acceptable with Macau. The casino agents, therefore, had to install fax machines.

Since the banning, most of the businesses have migrated to Southeast Asia where countries like the Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia have embraced proxy betting. This may have impacted on the drop of the VIP revenue collected in later years in Macau. Global market adviser ones noted that proxy betting has instant profits as the eight tables would cost approximately $65,000-80,000 which would be earned within the five months after setting up the business. This is rarely heard off in the field of business as most business may take years before giving back the starting capital.

As Macau bans proxy betting countries from Southeast Asia sets it at a strategic position between the regions of the economic giants which have vast untapped proxy gaming potential. These are very competitive gaming environment, and therefore casinos and other betting facilities would do very well. Proxy betting gives casino agents a new opportunity of streaming more revenues for the countries and themselves and thus if legalized Macau would be at a slightly higher rank economically.
It is very easy to execute judgment on those involved in online betting since they have their full information when establishing the betting accounts and even when funding them. This may not be the case with proxy betting.

If an agent operated in a locality where this kind of betting is illegal, then it is them to be executed as they are the ones who literary do all the transactions. This provides grounds for the player to hide behind the game as they can deny their involvement when still watching the game via video stream.

Macau’s decision to ban proxy betting was a clear indication that the authorities can abruptly change the gray areas to legally black at the drop of a hat. This makes the game completely illegal something they made a decision on without looking at its implication on the the revenue and lives of businesses and players.

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Jared Bates

I have been working in, and with different casinos for over twenty years, and as such I have seen many things happen to gambling online and offline. From Vegas to Atlantic City, and small places in between, my passion lies with games where I can win money.