(Yicai Global) Sept. 4 -- Online gambling is not permitted in Macau, a department of the Macao government said today, adding that local residents should beware of scams.

All online casinos using Macau in its name or claiming to be the ‘Macau lottery’ are false and illegal because the special administrative region has never sanctioned online gambling, the Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau said.

Anyone who suspects they have been deceived must report the matter to the police immediately, it added.

Macau is the fourth largest gambling city in the world and the only place in China where gambling is legal. Casino taxes are an important source of revenue for the Macau government. Last year 84 percent of the region’s revenue of MOP133.5 billion (USD16.8 billion) came from the casinos.

Macau's gross domestic product is likely to drop by between 55.7 percent and 59.1 percent this year because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the University of Macau said in June. Government revenue could fall to as low as MOP71.3 billion, it added.

Editor: Kim Taylor