(...)

One of the first people I met in Macau was António Lobo Vilela. Antonio was working as a legal advisor to the Macau Tender Commission at that time. We were among the early pioneers trying to develop the best and most successful gaming industry possible for Macau. António and his team were in a unique position to understand both the relevant legal and regulatory requirements, as well as many of the practical issues raised by industry representatives. It is fantastic that he has been able to take all of the knowledge he accumulated through that process and apply it to the numerous legal changes and refinements which have evolved over the past years. He has assembled and organized this voluminous amount of information into a set of reference materials that will benefit anyone who has business or responsibilities relating to the Macau Gaming Industry.

(...)

This Treatise is a great tool, and is in my view an essential and valuable reference for any lawyer, accountant, banker, compliance officer or vendor who deals with Macau Gaming issues.

(...)

in Preface to Volume II

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This kind of publications are often made with the legal professionals as the public target. In this case, however, the Author chose a different approach. This publication is a massive repository of everything that has been produced on gaming that may be relevant for the interpretation and the understanding of the norms and precepts that are contained in this legal regulatory framework. Thus, it is quite comprehensive and as complete as one can imagine. And the information collected and placed here is useful not only for judges and lawyers but also for many other professionals that may need to work with or understand specific provisions of these gaming laws and regulations. Its Annotations are obviously the result of a lawyer’s work, as was to be expected since the Author is a lawyer. And the legal wording in several matters cannot be simplified or popularized because this is one key feature of the Macau’s Romano-Germanic legal system. But the compilation of data and information on each specific topic makes the task easier for a person without legal training.

This publication will prove invaluable for a large number of professionals that have to interface with the Macau Gaming Legislation. Many of these professionals are not from Macau but work with companies or other entities that have significant vested interests in the Macau casino gaming sector. The language barrier (Macau official languages are Chinese and Portuguese), the small number of relevant publications and the habit of resorting to information provided by Macau lawyers, often simplified or authoritative, led to several foreign regulators as well as a multitude of foreign lawyers, consultants, investment analysts, financiers, accountants, auditors, fiscal experts, etc, having to operate in a grey area because the legislation is not officially translated into English language and different private translated versions exist for the same law or regulation.

This publication will be a major step towards a better knowledge and understanding of Macau Gaming Law by these foreign professionals.

Given its magnitude, I suspect that many years will pass until this publication is surpassed by a more complete one.

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in Preface to Volume I

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This book by Antonio Lobo Vilela is not only an essential guide to the law of gaming and gambling in Macau but provides the historical background needed to provide full context for each provision of the gaming laws. Mr. Lobo Vilela is particularly qualified to author this critical archive.

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His intimate knowledge and detailed research result in the definitive, comprehensive examination and understanding of the Macau gaming laws by providing references, bibliographies, sources, initial, amended and published versions of the laws, competitive laws, statutes and related legal provisions, related formal communications, related and foreign case law and detailed notes. This book offers regulators, industry members, practitioners, judges, and the public with a complete and easily accessible roadmap to all Macau gaming laws. It is essential for any complete gaming law library or anyone having an interest in successfully navigating the Macau gaming industry.

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in Preface to Volume III

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These volumes chart how from a monopolistic control model, Macau has become the most competitive & largest gaming destination in the world. The author António Lobo Vilela is one of the few people who is qualified & competent to appreciate the subtleties & complexities that had to be navigated to affect this transformation as a member of the legal advisory & drafting team to the Macau Gaming Commission. That this work has now been completed will provide both an anthropological and technical legal record of this amazing transformation of Macau.

Study it, understand it & I hope you will appreciate its subtleties & character which is a reflection of Macau itself.

(...)

in Preface to Volume IV