GAMING LAW REVIEW AND ECONOMICS
Volume 17, Number 2, 2013
Ó Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
DOI: 10.1089/glre.2013.1727
A History of Games of Chance in Macau:
Part 2—The Foundation of the Macau Gaming Industry
Jorge Godinho
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second part of a
series of articles on the history of casino
games of chance. The first was published in
a previous issue (October 2012) of Gaming
Law Review and Economics.
I. BACKGROUND
T
he existence of sustained demand for various types of gambling is a permanent element
in Chinese culture that goes back thousands of
years. Southern China and southeast Asia have
been described as a ‘‘gambling belt,’’ or the most
gambling-prone region of the world.1
Modern regulation of games of chance in Macau
has been in place continuously since the midnineteenth century, starting with the game of
fantan. Hence, this research is limited to the last
two centuries.
In this time frame, any modern history of Macau
must be seen in connection with the arrival by sea in
the sixteenth century and settlement of the Portuguese2 and the policy choices made by their administrations in interaction with the Chinese authorities
and community, within the regional context.3 One
such decision was the authorization, regulation,
and taxation of various forms of gambling.
The Portuguese Jorge Álvares reached China in
1513, almost exactly 500 years ago. Macau’s golden
age of trade lasted until other European powers
started to make inroads into Portuguese domination
of the seas. The Dutch unsuccessfully tried to conquer Macau in June 1622. Although diminished
by the closure of Japan to trade and by the loss of
Jorge Godinho is an associate professor on the Faculty of Law
at the University of Macau, where he lectures on gaming law.
Malacca (Melaka) to the Dutch in 1641, the Portuguese trading patterns continued until the nineteenth
century, a time in which profound changes took
place that considerably damaged the already declining economy of Macau, forcing its total transformation.4
In Portugal, gambling had been a crime for many
centuries, since the Middle Ages. There were penal
prohibitions against playing cards, dice, or any other
games for money (jogos de parar), as well as for
1
See Desmond Lam, The World of Chinese Gambling 17
et seq. (2009); John Price, Gambling in Traditional Asia, 14(2)
Anthropologica (new series) 157 (1972).
2
For references to the history of Macau prior to the arrival of the
Portuguese, see Zhidong Hao, Macau: History and Culture 12 et seq. (2011).
3
The Chinese admiral Zheng He
(1371–1433) reached the
east coast of Africa in his fourth voyage (1413–15), while at
the same time the Portuguese had taken Ceuta in northwest
Africa in 1415. Ceuta was the start of the largest global maritime exploration, only comparable to the Polynesian colonization of the Pacific Ocean. Navigators then sailed south along
the west coast of Africa from their staging post in Lagos; see
Rui Manuel Loureiro, Lagos e os Descobrimentos Até
1460 39 et seq. (2008, reprint of the 1991 edition). Gil Eanes
rounded cape Bojador in 1434 while in the previous year,
Zheng He, in his final, seventh voyage, reached southern
Africa, near the Mozambique Channel; see Wang Jienan,
Zheng He’s Voyages to the Western Oceans 90 (trans.
Ego 2010). Chinese maritime diplomacy and exploration was
then halted; for the reasons, see C. P. Fitzgerald, The
Southern Expansion of the Chinese People 100 et seq.
(1972). Therefore, fleets of the two nations never met in the Indian Ocean in that era. The Portuguese took Malacca (Melaka)
and reached Siam (Thailand) in 1511. For the broader context,
see also Francisco Bethencourt and Diogo Ramada
Curto (eds.), Portuguese Oceanic Expansion 1400–
1800 (2007); Peter Borschberg, Hugo Grotius, the Portuguese, and Free Trade in the East Indies (2011).
4
Patrizia Carioti, Il Declinio del Portogallo nei Mari EstremiOrientali nel Secolo XVII: Alcune Considerazioni Sulla Superstite Postazione di Macao, in Maria Luisa Cusati (org.), Il
Portogallo e i Mari: Un Incontro tra Culture, Volume
II 389 et seq. (1997).
107
108
GODINHO
operating gaming for profit (tabolagem, tavolagem), but it was legal to play card games and
other games, such as checkers and backgammon,
for pure entertainment.5 The king had a monopoly
on the manufacture of playing cards since 1603,6
and the Portuguese deck of cards spread around
the world, taken by navigators.7 It was a crime to
manufacture or import decks from abroad. Lotteries
were initiated in 1783, under Queen D. Maria I.
After the liberal revolution of 1820 (the start of
constitutional monarchy), gambling for money continued to be forbidden,8 but the prohibition was not
enshrined in any of the six Portuguese Constitutions.9 After some hesitation, it became clear that
the licensing of public gaming houses was a competence of the government, while it was for the municipal authorities to inspect gaming houses and trigger
the prosecution of those who allowed any prohibited
games to be played or the ‘‘squandering [delapidação]
of money, and significant amounts, which knowingly cause the ruin of families and take away
their means of subsistence.’’10
Macau had been under a system of mixed jurisdiction since the start of the establishment in the six-
teenth century, with Portuguese governance under
the Senate. Chinese authorities imposed a ground
rent and many detailed rules on trade and living
conditions over the Portuguese,11 with which the
Senate tended to compromise.12
The degree of assimilation or uniformity with
Portuguese law varied. In a first period, from 1822
to 1838, total uniformity was aimed at, in line
with liberal principles: all laws would be applied
in the same manner in all colonies.13 This approach
changed with the Portuguese Constitution of 1838,
which explicitly allowed for exceptions to general
laws in the colonies,14 so as to give latitude to handle local problems and recognize the traditions,
cultures, and practices of non-European communities.15 A decree of May 2, 184316 enabled the
central government in Lisbon to enact urgent measures for the provinces and allowed the governors
to deal with occurrences as they saw fit, whenever
the delay in receiving instructions from Lisbon
could compromise State security or threaten irreparable damage to key interests.17 In the more distant
outposts or ‘‘establishments,’’ such as Macau, where
communication with Goa and Lisbon was slow, the
5
novo’’: Macau e a polı´tica externa portuguesa na China
(1842–1853), in António Vasconcelos de Saldanha,
Estudos Sobre as Relações Luso-Chinesas 173 et seq.
(1996).
13
Noronha e Silveira, supra note 12, at 21.
14
Art. 137: ‘‘The overseas provinces may be governed by special laws as required by the convenience of each of them.’’
This provision has a striking resemblance with article 31 of
the 1982 PRC Constitution, the legal basis for the ‘‘one country,
two systems’’ policy.
15
The best known examples are from civil law, where the usages
and customs of the Chinese population were safeguarded in
matters of family and succession law; see António Hespanha, Panorama da História Institucional e Jurı́dica
de Macau 48 et seq. (1995).
16
Issued under the Constitutional Charter of 1826, which had
been reinstated in 1842.
17
The decree that opened Macau to free trade (Decree of 20 November 1845, in 9 Boletim Oficial, Mar. 5, 1846, at 2) was
followed by an explicit authorization of this kind: ‘‘as some difficulties may be encountered with the regulatory provisions, or
inconvenience in their execution, which can only be properly
evaluated in the place in which they are to be put into practice,
and on such occasion, or after their application, [the Governor is
hereby authorized to] modify or amend such provisions of the
said Decree that so require, so that the goals that are intended
may be more easily and regularly obtained;’’ Portaria no.
364, 9 Boletim Oficial, Mar. 5, 1846, at 1. Governor Gregório
Pegado (g. 1843–1846) adapted and expanded some of the provisions; see Portaria no. 55, Boletim Oficial, Mar. 31, 1846
(special issue), at 1.
Ordenações Filipinas (1595–1603), Livro 5, Title 82:
Dos que jogam dados ou cartas ou as fazem ou vendem ou
dão tabolagem, e de outros jogos defesos. See Ordenações
Filipinas, Livros IV e V 1230 et seq. (1985) (facsimile reproduction of the edition by Cândido Mendes de Almeida, Rio de
Janeiro, 1870); Law of 25 January 1677, art. XI.
6
Contrato das cartas de jogar e Solimão; Alvará of 17 March 1603.
7
See Ana Maria Amaro, Os jogos de cartas na expansão portuguesa, 10 Mare Liberum 493 et seq. (Dec. 1995).
8
Order of 28 February 1821 and Law of 18 December 1823;
1852 Penal Code, arts. 264 et seq.; 1886 Penal Code, arts.
264 et seq. See also Francisco Ferrão, Teoria do direito
penal aplicada ao código penal português, Volume 5
354 et seq. (1857).
9
However, two authors claim that that was the case; see Siu and
Eadington, Between law and custom: Examining the Interaction
Between Legislative Change and the Evolution of Macao’s
Casino Industry, in 7 Int’l Gambling Stud. 1, 5 (Apr.
2007): ‘‘it was clear that the regulatory system implemented
by the Macao-Portuguese government in Macao deviated
from the constitution of Portugal.’’
10
1836 Admin. Code, art. 124, para. 15; 1842 Admin. Code, art.
249, para. 5. For the follow-up of these provisions in Macau, see
note 57 and respective text.
11
Bento da França, Subsı́dios Para a História de Macau
178 (1888); F. Gonçalves Pereira, Portugal, a China e a
‘‘Questão de Macau’’ 24 et seq. (1995).
12
Jorge Noronha e Silveira, Subsı́dios Para a História
do Direito Constitucional de Macau (1820–1974) 14
(1991); Pereira, supra note 11, at 26; António Vasconcelos
de Saldanha, ‘‘Um estabelecimento a refundir e criar de
109
HISTORY OF GAMES OF CHANCE IN MACAU
conditions were of a ‘‘frontier’’ environment which
required flexibility, peaceful coexistence, negotiation, and adaptation—practices in which the Senate
had a long tradition.
However, the institutional context shifted as a result of a major reform of the method of colonial
government. As mentioned, for centuries, the center
of Portuguese power had been the Senate. But a
decree of December 7, 1836, much to the Senate’s
disappointment—and passive resistance—stated
that the supreme civil authority in each colony
henceforth would be a governor, and the Senate
would continue as a municipality. The position of
governor was created in 1623, following the failed
Dutch invasion, but it had been just a military function, not a political one. This reform of 1836 was
intended to shift the center of gravity of governance
away from the resident members of the Senate to an
expatriate colonial administrator who lacked local
links and was directly accountable to Lisbon only.
The shift did occur, but it was a painful process.
It was in this fluid and complex political and economic environment that major transformations took
place.
II. GOVERNOR FERREIRA DO AMARAL:
THE ‘‘FOUNDING FATHER’’
We submit that Governor João Maria Ferreira do
Amaral (g. 1846–1849) should be recognized as the
‘‘founding father’’ of the modern gaming industry,
for having initiated the formal authorization of the
commercial operation of the two most popular Chinese types of gaming at the time, which survive
today: the pacapio lottery and the game of fantan.
However, in what amounts to a glaring omission,
the role of Governor Ferreira do Amaral in relation
to gaming has not been emphasized up to now.18
Despite the fact that games of chance were not
allowed in Portugal at the time, pacapio in 1847
and fantan in 1849 were authorized and taxed in
Macau. These were pragmatic and decisive measures, well in line with the bold and abrasive character of Governor Ferreira do Amaral (g. 1846–1849),
whose term of office is generally recognized as a
key turning point in Macau’s history. The legalization of both pacapio and fantan that Amaral carried
out is yet another reason why this governor’s place
in the history of Macau is extremely significant, in
addition to his well-documented role in facing Sen-
ate resistance to becoming simply a municipal body
(as was already stated in the law), initiating the colonial period and ending mixed jurisdiction, stopping the payment of the ground rent, closing the
Chinese and Portuguese customs houses and opening the port to free trade with all nations, occupying
the islands of of Coloane and Taipa (between which
the Cotai would emerge 150 years later), raising
new taxes, and transforming the nature of the relations between China and Portugal.
His action vis-à-vis gambling took place in a very
specific and pressing context: the dire financial situation afflicting the then-newly created province of
Macau, Timor, and Solor. The province was established in 1844 as a result of a split from the Estado
da I´ndia with headquarters in Goa, after which
Macau started reporting directly to Lisbon.19 It was
necessary to face the economic challenges, enforce
a new system of governance, and—from the point
of view of Lisbon—impose Portuguese sovereignty.
The situation indeed called for sharp and creative
action. Macau had to totally reinvent its way of living: while already three centuries old at the time, it
was ‘‘an establishment to be recast and recreated
from scratch.’’20 It is unanimously recognized by
historians of this period that a major reorientation
indeed took place in 1846–49, from mixed jurisdiction to a basically colonial system. However,
usually only the political-constitutional aspects of
this transformation are stressed, and the actual nature of the economic changes which occurred
tends to be totally omitted, thereby giving an
18
In a clear example, a monograph published in 1944, written
by his great granddaughter, historian Lia Ferreira do Amaral
(1914–1999), studies the accomplishments and historical significance of his term of office almost exactly one century
later, but does not mention the role Governor Amaral played
in relation to gaming at all. See Lia Ferreira do Amaral,
O Significado do Governo de Ferreira do Amaral em
Macau 1846–1849 (1944).
19
Decree of 20 September 1844, 1 Boletim Oficial, Jan. 8,
1846, at 1. Timor had lost its main source of revenue, sandalwood, due to overharvesting; Rosmarie Lamas, History of
Macau: A Student’s Manual 83 (1998). Timor was finally
separated from Macau in 1896, but continued to be partially financed by Macau after that (52(1st supp.) Boletim Oficial,
Dec. 31, 1896, at 597).
20
This expression is taken from the title of the seminal study of
this period by António Vasconcelos de Saldanha, supra note 12,
at 49 et seq., who takes the expression from the instructions
given by the Overseas Minister to Governor Amaral in January
1846; the instructions are published as annex 5 to the study, at
385.
110
incomplete picture of how such recasting was carried out in the face of the overwhelming competition posed by the British at Hong Kong and in the
region. It is necessary to stress clearly that after
these key years of 1846–49, and despite the opening
of the port, shipping and trade were never revived in
any meaningful way, as had been hoped. Instead,
Macau survived and became financially self-sufficient by relying heavily on such sources of revenue
as the pacapio lottery, the game of fantan, the sale of
opium, the coolie trade, and later the vaeseng lottery. This unique economic model was never
planned as such, but rather arose gradually from
pragmatic and tentative decisions, taken under pressure. But it was financially successful, and deficits
disappeared within just a few years, during the
mid-1850s. The radical economic reshaping that
took place in fact was made on the basis of gambling, vice, and suspicious industries.
There were, simply, no other alternatives.
Following decades of growing presence in the
region—and in Macau and Canton in particular—
the settlement of the British at nearby Hong Kong
in 1841 in the wake of the defeat of China in the
first Opium War21 had a destructive economic impact upon Macau. As early as January 1841, the
local authorities were alerting the government in
Lisbon that such an extremely close new British establishment would surely deal a fatal blow to trade,
as indeed happened.22 Macau, together with
Guangzhou (under the ‘‘Canton system,’’ since
1756), had been the main place of trade in south
China for three centuries. But this changed forever
due to the new British colony of Hong Kong,
which rapidly became a commercial hub. Most
hong traders and shipping moved there, together
with many Macanese themselves looking for jobs;
first, in the early 1840s upon its founding, and
again in 1849–50, in the wake of the panic and tensions generated by the assassination of Governor
Ferreira do Amaral on August 22, 1849.23 The
new context caused resentment among the Portuguese of Macau against British expansionism, due
to a perceived lack of solidarity or respect from
what was supposed to be a traditional ally. This
forced the Portuguese colonial government to seek
alternative sources of revenue to cover the serious
deficit caused by devastating competition from the
new British colony and its superior maritime
power.24 Macau was declared a free port in
1845,25 open to trade with all nations, but this mea-
GODINHO
sure did not reverse the decline in trade and business. Taxes (décima) were created and enforced,
despite great resistance, but were not sufficient.
Without business coming from the sea, the economy
of Macau turned inland.
A substantial source of revenue was found in the
policy of granting exclusive or monopoly rights
over certain businesses or supplies of key goods, including the pacapio lottery and the popular game of
chance, fantan. Many monopolies over profitable
businesses were granted from 1848 onwards in
order to raise tax funds: the supply of pork and
beef, fish, opium, salt, and oysters, among others.26
The various monopolies on gaming, opium, and
other goods and services grew rapidly and became
the financial backbone of Macau.27 Trading in coolies also generated important revenue until it was finally prohibited; some coolies were gamblers who
had to sell themselves to repay loans for gaming
provided by ‘‘coolie catchers.’’28
21
The Treaty of Nanjing, of 29 August 1842, ceded Hong Kong
and opened five Chinese ports for trade. It may be mentioned
that the opium business model (buy in India, sell in China)
was pioneered by the Portuguese, but it was the British who developed it on a grand scale.
22
In great detail, Vasconcelos de Saldanha, supra note 12, at 55.
23
Luı́s Andrade de Sá, The Boys from Macau: Portugueses em Hong Kong 31 (1999). Many Portuguese worked
at the Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank.
24
The silting of Macau’s harbor, a persistent problem, also did
not help matters. See Roderich Ptak and Peter Haberzettl,
Macao and its Harbour: Projects Planned and Projects Realized (1883–1927), 78(78) Bulletin de l’Ecole Française
d’Extrême-Orient 297 (1991).
25
Decree of 20 November 1845, in Diário do Governo (Portugal), Dec. 24, 1845, issue 303; in 9 Boletim Oficial, Mar. 5
1846, at 2.
26
See Mapa dos preços por que se arremataram na Junta da
Fazenda de Macau, em leilão público, os exclusivos nos anos
económicos de 1851 até 1859, 30 Boletim Oficial, May 21,
1859, at 1.
27
See Fernando Figueiredo, Os vectores da economia, in A. H.
Oliveira Marques (org.), História dos portugueses no
extremo Oriente, Vol. III: Macau e Timor do Antigo
Regime à República 185 et seq. (2000).
28
See Fei Chengkang, Macao 400 Years 258 (trans. Wang
Yintong, 1996): ‘‘The traffickers [of coolies], rogues and gangsters were all gamble-thirsty, and made gambling a trap to lure
the Chinese workers, forcing them to sell themselves when they
failed to pay up’’; Beatriz Basto da Silva, Emigração de
cules. Dossier Macau 1851–1894 (1994). See also British
parliamentary papers, Correspondence respecting the coolie
trade, Measures taken to prevent the fitting out of ships at
Hong Kong for the Macao coolie trade, Enclosure no. 1, A correct statement of the wicked practice of decoying and kidnapping, respectfully laid before his Excellency, Cleveland, 1915,
at 4.
111
HISTORY OF GAMES OF CHANCE IN MACAU
III. THE PACAPIO LOTTERY
First came the lottery of the Holy House and the
pacapio lottery.
After the start of lotteries in Portugal in
1783,29 a similar annual lottery for Macau was
allowed in 1810 to support good causes, including the hospital of the Holy House of Mercy,
and to care for orphans.30 The lottery was authorized by Royal charter of 5 October 1810, issued
by the Regent of Portugal while the crown was located in Rio de Janeiro due to the French invasions, and followed the same arrangements as
had been permitted in relation to the Lisbon
Holy House. The draw took place around Christmas time; therefore, this lottery was not a permanent operation.
The authorization in January 1847 of the pacapio
(Baige Piao, ‘‘white pigeon’’) lottery, which later
became known as keno outside China, arose from a
domestic political context marked by disputes between the governor and the Senate. One important
fact is known: it is explicitly stated in the sources
that the authorization was granted upon request
from Chinese businessmen.31 How did this come
about? How was Governor Ferreira do Amaral,
who had taken up the governorship of Macau just
months before, in April 1846, persuaded to take the
decision to authorize pacapio, a form of gambling
which surely he had never before heard of?
On one hand, it is clear that there were increasing
levels of illegal gambling at the time, as the Senate
had been adopting measures against it. On June 4,
1846, the Senate, recalling similar edicts of May
8, 1843 and August 14, 1844, again prohibited
allowing Chinese ‘‘of bad background’’ (de má
vida) into private houses ‘‘to gamble and organize
thefts.’’ The penalty was a fine of 10 taels,32 a
third of which would be paid to those who reported
the offence, in addition to any penalties imposed by
the judicial authority.33
In parallel, there was the legal Western-style lottery for charitable purposes. On July 23, 1846, the
governor authorized the annual issue of the lottery
of the Holy House of Mercy, in what should be considered a routine decision, published in the Boletim
Oficial on August 15.34 The detailed lottery plan
was published on August 20, being a sale of
16,000 worth of tickets, with 13,600 to be paid
out (the top prize being 2,000) and the profits
(2,400, or 15%) to be divided between the public
coffers (800 or 5%) and the Holy House (1,600 or
10%).35 This was a relatively large lottery.
The Senate was also having financial difficulties36 and wanted to open another lottery, of which
the only beneficiary would be the Senate itself, as
opposed to the existing lottery, which had its proceeds split between the Holy House and the government. The Senate wrote the minister in Lisbon in
1845, without receiving a reply, and again in June
1846, asking for authorization to operate an annual
lottery,37 while in parallel it was fighting illegal lotteries. The August 15, 1846 issue of the Boletim
Oficial published an edict prohibiting the lease of
warehouses and residential houses to Chinese to organize lotteries, citing security concerns and the
need to preserve public tranquility. Any ongoing
leases should be terminated within eight days;
29
In the first formulation, the revenues of the Portuguese lottery
were shared in three equal parts by the Royal Academy of Sciences, the Royal Hospital, and for the care of abandoned children.
30
On the Macau Holy House of Mercy, see Leonor Diaz de
Seabra, A Misericórdia de Macau (séculos XVI a
XIX): Irmandade, Poder e Caridade na Idade do Comércio 224 (2011).
31
See Receita do Ano Económico de 1887–1888, 11 Boletim
Oficial, Mar. 15, 1888, at 99–100, footnote (i): ‘‘Estabelecida
pelo Governador, a requerimento dos chinas, em Janeiro de
1847.’’
32
Penalties were expressed in Chinese taels at the time, as well
as Macau public revenue until 1853. For the sake of simplicity
only patacas are quoted in the text. During the nineteenth century, ‘‘pataca’’ refers to the ‘‘Mexican dollar,’’ the peso duro
espanhol, a silver Spanish/Mexican currency widely used in
Europe, America, and Asia, which had a value of 0.72 taels,
being the weight in silver of the 8 real coin, and also of 720
réis (the Portuguese currency). In 1853, the value was changed
to 850 réis (Decree of 12 October 1853). See Manuel Bernardo Lopes Fernandes, Memória das moedas correntes em Portugal desde o tempo dos romanos 350
(Lisbon, 1856). In 1893 the value of one pataca was set at
640 réis by a decree of August 19, 1893. The specific Macau
currency named ‘‘pataca’’ was only created later.
33
Edital, 22 Boletim Oficial, June 4, 1846, at 2.
34
Portaria 24, 32 Boletim Oficial, Aug. 15, 1846, at 1.
35
See Plano da lotaria de 16.000 patacas que a Santa Casa da
Misericórdia vai fazer a benefı´cio das obras pias a seu cargo, a
qual será extraı´da pública, e impreterivelmente em 5 de Janeiro
do ano vindouro com prévio aviso, 33 Boletim Oficial, Aug.
20, 1846, at 4.
36
In February 1845 the Senate borrowed 8,000 from the Holy
House; see letters of Feb. 8, 1845, in Catálogo dos manuscritos de Macau (1964).
37
AHU/ACL/SEMU/DGU/005, Cx. 14, correspondência do
Leal Senado, no. 6 de 1845, no. 4, June 18, 1846.
112
otherwise, penalties would apply.38 This edict is clear
evidence that besides the lottery of the Santa Casa,
there was an illegal—but significant—gambling
market, of a size and stability that warranted the renting of permanent premises by operators unwilling to
work simply on the streets or in boats. Besides the
alleged security issues, it is not known to what extent
such illegal operators created competition for the lottery of the Holy House, affecting its revenue.
The reaction of the illegal lottery organizers to the
Senate measures is also unknown. It may have happened that such organizers, knowing the nature of
local politics, the deep antagonism between the
new expatriate governor and the local residents (centered in the Senate and the Holy House), the need for
new sources of revenue, and the character of the new
governor, turned to Amaral with a proposal or request
to reverse the Senate measures intended to curtail
their activities and gain formal recognition. In this
manner, the authorization of pacapio was likely another aspect of the ongoing power dispute between
the Senate and the governor, in which the Senate
suffered another defeat: the municipality was not
allowed to operate what would have been a second
Western-style lottery, and instead, the government
authorized a new Chinese lottery, pacapio.
Whatever the exact politics, the governor, who in
October 1846 ended—with an iron fist—a major
Chinese upheaval against new taxes on ships
(revolta dos faitiões), moved very quickly after the
draw of the Holy House lottery was completed in
early January 1847 and authorized pacapio in the
same month. This measure coincided with the creation of the new taxes, and was adopted before he
completed his first year of office as governor. On
January 14, 1847, a payment of 100 patacas was
recorded in the books of the Junta da Fazenda,39
and another 100 on February 2.40 Then, in March
1847, the amount paid doubled to 200,41 likely signaling more frequent lottery draws, and remained at
this level until June of the same year.42 The licensee
making these payments is the same, and the name
seems to be Ayan. In the first five months of operation (February to June 1847), the revenue raised by
pacapio was 1,000 patacas, a significant amount.43
On July 1847, the payment was increased to 250 a
month,44 and in August 1847, to 400;45 however,
it was reduced back to 200 patacas in subsequent
months. The fact that the payment goes up and
down is a clear sign of experimentation, negotiation,
and adjustment.
GODINHO
Predictably, the lottery of the Holy House suffered
an impact and shrank considerably. While the 1846
lottery plan was for 16000 patacas worth of tickets,
in 1847 it was decided to split this amount in eight
series of 2,000 each and only issue the next if demand
warranted. In fact, only two series were issued.
On the other hand, and also predictably, the Senate did not support licensing pacapio. In fact, the
1847 Senate had strongly opposed the new taxes
created by Amaral, and complained directly to Lisbon about the matter on various occasions in the
first half of 1847. This came to be known to the
governor later in the year, and the broader conflict
culminated with Amaral dissolving the Senate in
December 1847,46 but failing to call new elections
immediately.47 In one of the complaints to Lisbon,
the Senate denounced the authorization of lotteries
as one of the governor’s wrong decisions:
Good decision-making by a government is not
just a matter of raising the revenue necessary
for its costs, but consists more precisely in a
prudent choice of the means used for such purpose. However, this Senate has noted, with
sadness and surprise, that today revenue is
sought without paying attention to the results
that may follow from the means used. What
is seen is that neither the security of the Establishment is looked after, nor the conveniences
of policy, nor the rules of decorum, or even
public morality is respected, and little else is
38
See Edital of 12 August 1846, 32 Boletim Oficial, Aug. 15,
1846, at 2.
39
Or 72 taels: see note 32, supra. Registo das receitas entradas
na Fazenda Pública e das despesas efectuadas, com indicação
dos termos de receita e despesa dos respectivos documentos
comprovativos [hereinafter Registo das receitas], MO/AH/
DSF/075/0001/00131.
40
Registo das receitas, MO/AH/DSF/075/0001/00133.
41
Registo das receitas, MO/AH/DSF/075/0001/00136.
42
Registo das receitas, MO/AH/DSF/075/0001/00142; Registo
das receitas, MO/AH/DSF/075/0002/00006; Registo das receitas, MO/AH/DSF/075/0002/00009.
43
Junta da Fazenda Pública, Balanço da receita e despesa de
Janeiro até ao fim de Junho de 1847, 27/28 Boletim Oficial,
Aug. 12, 1847, at 106.
44
MO/AH/DSF/075/0002/00011.
45
MO/AH/DSF/075/0002/00014.
46
See the various documents published in Boletim Oficial,
Jan. 11, 1848 (special issue), with seven pages on the matter;
36 Boletim Oficial, Feb. 9, 1848, at 143.
47
The impasse lasted one year and was solved by a decree of
December 29, 1848, which confirmed the dissolution and ordered the organization of new elections.
113
HISTORY OF GAMES OF CHANCE IN MACAU
needed to render acceptable the principle
whereby the ends sanctify the means; and so
it was [for the tax on ships, the taxes on the Chinese, and for the duties on salt], and finally, that
the Chinese were given license to operate lotteries inside the city, a thing that the same Government which allowed it had just two months
before forbidden as immoral and harmful to
peacefulness and public tranquility.48
These complaints about pacapio received no sympathy from Lisbon. No particular problem was
found with the new ‘‘Chinese lottery’’ (as pacapio
was designated in the official sources). If there
was already a Western-style lottery for more than
35 years, what exactly would be the obstacle to
also having a Chinese one in operation? No order
to stop it ever arrived, and after a period of experimentation in 1847, the system became annual: the
first license for a full year was granted to Liu Pac
on April 5, 1848, subject to specific terms and conditions.49 The revenue obtained from pacapio was
3,520 patacas50 in the economic year 1847–48, increasing to 4,175 in 1848–49.51
Other reasons for the decision to legalize pacapio
can be conjectured, as the basic coordinates of gambling legalization are relatively immutable. Gaming
is often legalized or expanded during very difficult
economic times, as a last-resort measure. Just as in
many other places and times, it was surely observed
that, on the one hand, there was sustained demand for
gaming and, on the other hand, that prohibition was
practically unenforceable, or else too onerous, morally dubious, and likely amounting to a seemingly
futile exercise in achieving legal uniformity with Portugal, from which neither the colonial administration
nor the local merchants would gain. Prohibition, of
course, would mean that gambling would simply
continue illegally, generating problems and attracting
the wrong people. Therefore, under these conditions,
the pragmatic and reasonable course of action was to
authorize and tax, so as to generate revenue—especially if private businessmen requested to do so and
the public coffers desperately needed money.
IV. THE START OF FANTAN
The game of fantan, which was illegally played at
the time in Guangdong52—and surely also in
Macau—was authorized in 1849, more than two
years after pacapio. As a table game of chance
that can be operated continuously, much more
money can be won or lost in a short period of
time than in a lottery. Therefore, it is a type of gambling more intensive, addictive, and dangerous. It
can also provide larger profits for the organizer
and more tax revenue for the government.
Once pacapio had been authorized, a dynamic towards legalization may have been set in motion.
Generally speaking, when one form of gambling is
authorized and the taboo is broken, it is easier to
make the case for legalizing other forms. Besides,
it would be unacceptable to have a legal pacapio lottery and an illegal game of fantan being operated
side by side, or by the same company.
The first fantan license ever granted was awarded
directly to an unknown Chinese person by Governor
Ferreira do Amaral (g. 1846–1849) in April 1849,
when he had been in office for exactly three years.
There was no public bidding, and it may be speculated that it might have been granted upon request
of an applicant, just like pacapio, but no sources mention this. The public coffers recorded on April 10 a
payment of 80 patacas.53 It is not known whether
the payment was just for one fantan house or table
or for more than one, for how long it was given
(likely six months), and whether gambling remained
open after the governor’s death on August 22.
48
Leal Senado, 27 February 1847, Boletim Oficial, Jan. 11,
1848 (special issue), at 3.
49
Cartório da Procuratura. Polı´cial correccional chinesa, 52–
53 Boletim Oficial, Sept. 23, 1848, at 68 (Abril 5—Concedeu-se licença ao China Liu-pac para abrir Loteria por
tempo de um ano principiando a contar da data desta, sujeitando-se às condições que existem neste Cartório, e que
foram publicadas por Editais).
50
Junta da Fazenda Pública, Balanço da receita e despesa, 52–
53 Boletim Oficial, Sept. 23 1848, at 67.
51
Junta da Fazenda Pública, Balanço da receita e despesa, 77
Boletim Oficial, Aug. 11, 1849, at 79; these accounts show
a massive deficit, where the revenue covered less than half of
the expenses; the remaining funds were borrowed.
52
10(8) Chinese Repository, Aug. 1841, at 474. The report,
by an anonymous writer, describes fantan as ‘‘a very common
game’’ and adds: ‘‘One reason of the popularity of the game
is perhaps owing to the ease of playing it, the difficulty of deception, and the number of persons who can play at once—all
of them the same variety, or each taking a different one. Ten,
twenty and more men are all seen around a table (.).’’ The reference to ‘‘the same variety’’ seems to allude to the practice of
large numbers of players making the exact same bet against the
house, which can today be commonly observed in baccarat in
Macau casinos, and whereby gambling can be done in group.
53
Or 57,6 taels. Registo das receitas, MO/AH/DSF/075/0002/
00052.
114
A second license was later granted to the same
person in December 1849, by the government council. A monthly payment of 20 patacas was made on
December 5, and this amount is exactly a quarter of
what had been paid in April. The monthly payments
in the first semester of 1850 were 15 times higher, in
the amount of 300 patacas, possibly indicating a
large number of fantan houses in operation, and a
revenue of 1,820 patacas was raised in the 1849–
50 economic year. In the first semester of 1850,
the revenue of fantan, at 300 per month, overtook
pacapio, at 200 per month; this amount was paid
by a Chinese identified in the income records of
May and June as Lou Aloe.54 The fact that the
same licensee was happy to accept such exponential
increase of the rent is the best evidence of strong demand and that the economic potential of fantan was
starting to be understood by both the licensee and
the authorities. As to the broader political and economic context, this sharp increase might have had
links to heightened perceived financial needs in
the wake of the governor’s death, which caused
clamor and calls for military action that required
funding.55 The colony had been borrowing money
to cover its deficits on a regular basis.
As mentioned earlier, gambling was never prohibited by constitutional law, so the matter was
dealt with by ordinary legislation. The legal basis
initially used by Governor Amaral to authorize fantan was the general administrative power to license
gaming houses, hostelries, and similar businesses.
After exchanges of correspondence between the
Senate and the governor in 1845 about which entity
was competent to issue licenses for ‘‘lawful gaming’’ (jogo lı´cito)56 and collect the respective
fees—due to the 1836 and 1842 Administrative
Codes not being clear on the point—the matter
was raised with Lisbon, where, after hearing the attorney general, it was decided in February 1846 that
this area was the competence of the governor.57 This
decision was highly predictable, given that the exact
same matter had been decided by a decree of March
5, 1844,58 which clarified that the competence to
grant licenses for gaming houses, hostelries, guest
houses, and similar premises belonged to the central
administrative authority, not the municipality.59
After being refused this competence, the Senate in
June 1846 asked anyway to be given the proceeds
of the licenses to no avail.60
From 1850 onwards, the authorization was explicitly issued under the general sovereign power
GODINHO
to declare an ‘‘exclusive,’’ a public monopoly over
key goods or services, or luxury goods or vices,
and tax the production and distribution of such
goods or the rendering of such services. Since
1848, there was already some experience in awarding exclusives, starting with pork and beef.61
In 1850, the annual exclusive right to operate fantan was granted by means of public auction for the
54
However, the handwritten record is not easy to read. See
Registo das receitas, MO/AH/DSF/075/0002/00069 and
00079. Around the same time, the licensing fees of pawn
shops started to become a visible source of revenue.
55
In detail, António Vasconcelos de Saldanha, supra note 12, at
311 et seq. Carlos José Caldeira, a visitor during this period,
called for military action, building upon a general sense of
utter outrage at the killing. But the clamor did not last very
long, and Portugal returned to a diplomatic approach in the relations with China.
56
For the references, see Centro de Estudos Históricos
Ultramarinos, Catálogo dos manuscritos de Macau
118 (1964).
57
Portaria of the Overseas Minister no. 398, of Feb. 16, 1846,
AHU/ACL/SEMU/DGU/004, Lv 0003 (registo da correspondência enviada para Macau). This was issued in the
final months of Governor Pegado (g. 1843–1846), while future
Governor Amaral was already on his way to Macau. Such legal
basis was only mentioned in documents published decades
later, and can be found in footnotes to financial documents published in the Boletim Oficial by the tax authorities in 1883 and
1888. See Tabelas da receita e despesa da provı´ncia de Macau
e Timor do ano económico de 1882–1883, 15(supp.) Boletim
Oficial, Apr. 14, 1883, at 135–136, footnote (i) to the table:
‘‘As licenças para as casas do jogo foram estabelecidas em
Abril de 1849 em virtude da Portaria de 16 de Fevereiro de
1846’’ (‘‘licenses for gaming houses were established in April
1849 in accordance with Portaria of 16 February 1846’’). The
same note is found on Receita do ano económico de 1887–
1888, 11 Boletim Oficial, Mar. 15, 1888, at 99–100, footnote
(i). Also mentioned in J. J. da Silva, Repertório alphabetico e chronologico. I´ndice remissivo da legislação
ultramarina 264 (Typographia de J. F. Pinheiro, 1904).
58
56 Diário do Governo, Mar. 6, 1844.
59
It may be noted that the text of the communication sent to
Macau in February 1846 is slightly different from the Portuguese decree, as it mentions explicitly that the ‘‘fees and revenues’’ arising from licensing gaming houses are an income of
the governor. The word ‘‘revenues’’ (rendimentos) seems to
be an implicit reference to the system of sovereign exclusives,
indicating that the governor can create them. As mentioned, in
Macau in the 1840s, it was well known that there was sustained
demand for gaming, legal uniformity with Portugal was not an
imperative (see notes 15–16 and respective text), and pacapio
and fantan were obviously unknown in Europe.
60
AHU/ACL/SEMU/DGU/005, Cx 0014, Correspondência do
Leal Senado, June 18, 1846, no. 6.
61
On pork, see Edital, 36 Boletim Oficial, Feb. 9, 1848, at
144. On beef, see Edital, 37 Boletim Oficial, Feb. 17,
1848, at 9. In both cases, there were specific terms and conditions, fixed prices, and a personal guarantee ( fiança) was
requested.
115
HISTORY OF GAMES OF CHANCE IN MACAU
Table 1. Details of the Licensing of Fantan in the First Decade of Operation (1849–1859)
Year
1849
Revenue
collected (MOP)
80
Buyer at auction
Comments
A Chinese
1849–50
1850–51
1,820
11,920
As above
Mestrinho (Chinese)
1851–52
12,000
1852–53
9,720
1853–54
10,920
1854–55
9,720
1855–56
12,060
1856–57
12,060
1857–58
23,940
Nicolau Tolentino
Fernandes
Nicolau Tolentino
Fernandes
Nicolau Tolentino
Fernandes
Nicolau Tolentino
Fernandes
Nicolau Tolentino
Fernandes
Nicolau Tolentino
Fernandes
Nicolau Tolentino
Fernandes
1858–59
84,000
License granted directly by Gov. Ferreira do
Amaral (no public bidding)
License granted directly by the Government Council
Auctioned by the Procuratura at 1.000 per month;
however, the operator did not perform the contract
until the end and ran away
Auctioned by the Junta da Fazenda
Granted at the second auction
Granted at the third auction
Granted at the second auction
Auctioned at 1005 patacas per month for three years
Second year of three
Last year of three. The license holder opened more
houses than foreseen in the contract and had
to pay for excess*
Public auction
Chiong Ahoi
*Indeed, nearly the double was paid. In the conditions for 1858–59, it was stated that in case the concessionaire wanted to operate more than the
maximum 20 fantan tables, he would have to apply for permission which, if granted, would cause a payment of an amount proportional to that price
paid for the 20 houses. See Aviso of the Junta da Fazenda, 31 Boletim Oficial, May 29, 1858, at 121.
first time62. The sale was conducted by the Procurator for Chinese Affairs (Procuratura dos Negócios
Sı´nicos), who was answerable to the governor.63
The 1850 auction drove the rent up considerably,
to an annual amount of 12,000 patacas, paid by a
Chinese identified as ‘‘Mestrinho’’ in the sources,
in what was the first time that a relatively stable
market value was found for the fantan concession.
With this auction the fantan business reached maturity; in the three economic years of 1850–51 to
1852–53, fantan generated more than double the
revenue of pacapio.64
From 1851 onwards, the procedure stabilized and
the auction was henceforth done by the Junta da
Fazenda Pública, the government tax authority, in
the same manner as for other exclusive rights. The
revenue remained in a narrow range from 9,720 to
12,060 for a few years, until it went up sharply, by
a magnitude of seven, in the 1858 auction, to 84,000.
A table published in the Boletim Oficial65 provides details on the licensing of fantan in the first decade of the operation, including the revenue
collected, and is worth a full translation (see Table 1).
In 1851, after Mestrinho fled, Nicolau Tolentino
Fernandes obtained the first of his licenses. In the
1855 auction, he first offered 900 patacas a
month; then Chiong Ahoi raised the amount offered
to 1,000 and finally, Fernandes hammered it for
1,005 patacas. Chiong Ahoi would have to wait
three years, and pay much more, to obtain the exclusive in 1858.66
62
The notice for the 1851 auction indicates that it is a renewal;
see Sinopse da Procuratura de 22 de Junho a 5 de Julho de
1851, 34 Boletim Oficial, July 12, 1851, at 110: ‘‘28
Junho: afixou-se um Edital para a nova arrematação do exclusivo do jogo de Latan, que terá lugar em 1.° de Julho próximo
vindouro.’’
63
The Procuratura was removed from the Senate and made dependent from the governor except on purely municipal matters
by means of a Decree of 20 August 1847, 33/34 Boletim Oficial, Oct. 26, 1847, at 128. See Hespanha, supra note 15, at
57 et seq. José Gabriel Mariano, A Procuratura dos Negócios
Sı´nicos (1583–1894), 2 O Direito 18 (1990).
64
Junta da Fazenda Pública, Tabela comparativa da receita
pública de Macau nos 3 anos económicos decorridos desde o
1.° de Julho de 1850 a 30 de Junho de 1853, 26 Boletim Oficial,
Sept. 2, 1853, at 104.
65
See Macau Government Junta da Fazenda Pública, Mapa
demonstrativo das arrematações do jogo do Fantan desde a
criação do exclusivo, 30 Boletim Oficial, May 21, 1859, at
1. See also Luı́s Quental, O Fantan em Macau no século XIX,
4 Revista Macau (series II) 84 (1992).
66
Luı́s Quental, O Fantan em Macau no século XIX, 4 Revista
Macau (series II) 84 (1992).
116
GODINHO
Table 2. Recorded Income for the 1859–1860
Economic Year: Major Sources of Direct Taxes
Item
License of Chinese gaming
houses [fantan]
Taxes [décimas] paid by Christians
License of Chinese lottery [pacapio]
Licenses and taxes paid by Chinese
License of the sale of boiled opium
License for the sale of pork
and cow meat
Taxes and revenue from real estate
Stamp duty
Budgeted
Collected
84.000
84.400
13.000
21.600
13.000
12.060
12.000
27.788
27.265
24.878
19.715
13.301
8.000
900
11.262
10.586
With hindsight, the sale for 12,060 for three years
carried out in 1855 was not a very good arrangement
for the public coffers. In those years, the market
share of pacapio recovered in relation to fantan. In
the 1857–58 economic year, something unique happened: pacapio generated more revenue than fantan.67 It is not easy to forecast the evolution of the
market trends in the medium term when setting a
fixed rent, and the large expansion of fantan was
not anticipated.
After the animosity caused by the death of Governor Ferreira do Amaral subsided, Macau remained
neutral during the Taiping rebellion, which contrib-
uted to a large influx of population from nearby regions,68 and also during the second Opium War.69
The Vaeseng lottery was legalized in 1860 in
Guangdong to raise funds for the military efforts.70
These external events took place during the long
term of office of Governor Isidoro Francisco Guimarães (g. 1851–63).71
The fantan and pacapio revenue helped to end the
public deficits by the mid-1850s. It is not possible
here to undertake a full financial study, but taking
the 1859–60 economic year as an example, it can
be seen that fantan was by far the largest source
of revenue, due to the sharply higher rent generated,
almost the triple of pacapio. The income recorded in
this year included the major sources of direct taxes
shown in Table 2.72
A note on this table states that the difference between the revenue budgeted and that collected is
due to increases in revenue and also to the collection
of amounts due from previous years. As a result, the
1859–60 economic year opened with a positive balance of 186,443 and ended with a positive balance
of 204,468, which was not larger only because of
extraordinary expenses, including repairs of public
buildings ‘‘due to their ruinous state,’’ repairs of
the government palace, and the repayment of
loans from previous years.
67
Junta da Fazenda Pública, Tabela comparativa da receita
pública de Macau nos 4 anos económicos desde o 1.° de
Julho de 1854 a 30 de Junho de 1858, 42 Boletim Oficial,
Aug. 14, 1858, at 167.
68
Alfredo Dias, Macau e a revolta Taiping, 40 Revista
Macau 56 (Aug. 1995).
69
Alfredo Dias, Macau e as guerras do ópio 1856/60, 42
Revista Macau 40 (Oct. 1995).
70
Virgil Ho, Understanding Canton. Rethinking Popular Culture in the Republican Period 170 (2005).
71
Alfredo Dias, Isidoro Guimarães. Um Governador e três tratados, 32 Revista Macau 59 (Dec. 1994).
72
See Mapa comparativo da receita pública de Macau pelo
orçamento, e receita efectivamente cobrada no 27.° ano económico de 1859 a 1860, 44 Boletim Oficial, Oct. 6, 1860,
at 174.