Macau Casino Guide: 4 Casinos by Purpose, Entry Rules and Budget

Macau is one of the largest casino cities in the world, yet its casinos are easy for tourists to get into. Anyone aged 21 or over can enter regardless of nationality as long as they bring a passport, and everyday clothes are fine on the main gaming floor. If you know a few key points before you go, there is nothing to worry about, even on your first visit.

What You Will Learn

• Macau is home to some of the largest casinos in Asia.
• Anyone aged 21 or over with a passport can enter, regardless of nationality. The casinos use the Hong Kong dollar, not the Macanese pataca.

This article takes about 13 minutes to read.

At a Glance: Macau Casinos by Purpose

Macau has dozens of casinos, but when it comes to choosing one, three points matter most: your budget (the minimum bet), whether the casino suits beginners or VIP players, and the range of games on offer.

If you do not have time to read the whole article, the quick guide below lets you pick a casino by purpose at a glance. Once you find one that interests you, read on for the details.

What to Know Before Visiting a Casino in Macau

First-time visitors to Macau’s casinos are most often unsure about three things: the entry requirements, what to wear and which currency to use.

Entry Requirements and Age Limit

The requirements for entering a casino are simple.

Tourists sometimes ask whether they are allowed into Macau’s casinos, and the answer is yes. There are no entry restrictions based on nationality, and visitors from around the world aged 21 or over use the casinos every day.

Staff do check ages at the entrance, however. In particular, anyone who looks young should always carry their passport. If you leave it in your hotel room, you may be turned away at the door.

Dress Code and What to Bring

Many players picture casinos as places where you have to dress up, but in Macau there is little need to worry about this.

• Main gaming floor: everyday clothes (T-shirts, sneakers and so on) are fine
• VIP areas: sandals or very casual clothes will stand out, so neat clothing is the safer choice
• Not allowed: hats and sunglasses (prohibited for security reasons)

Some players wear sunglasses for medical reasons or to protect their eyes from light. In that case, let the staff at the entrance know and they will accommodate you.

Packing Checklist

To avoid any last-minute trouble, check the following before you set off.

• Passport (required for age verification and as ID)
• Cash (your home currency, or Hong Kong dollars exchanged in advance)
• Credit card (can often be used to buy chips)
• Comfortable clothes that will not look out of place in a VIP area
• Be ready to remove hats and sunglasses at the entrance (they are not allowed on the floor)

Currency and Money Exchange

Money is a small but common source of confusion once you arrive, so it helps to know the basics in advance.

The key point is to bring Hong Kong dollars, not Macanese patacas. Hong Kong dollars are accepted everywhere in Macau, but patacas are not accepted in Hong Kong.

Safety and Belongings if You Are Going Alone

Is it safe to visit a Macau casino on your own?

Macau is well policed and relatively safe. Pickpockets who target tourists do exist, however, so keep the following basic precautions in mind.

• Carry your bag in front of you or wear it across your body
• Leave large luggage at your hotel and go with as little as possible
• Do not keep all your valuables in a single bag

Macau’s casinos attract a wide range of visitors, and people on their own are a common sight. Avoid staying late into the night, and decide in advance when you will leave.

Budgeting for Macau Casinos

How much money should you actually bring? For many players thinking about a visit to a Macau casino, this is the question that matters most.

Sample Budgets by Purpose

How much you need depends largely on how seriously you plan to play. Use the following as a rough guide.

Macau’s casinos charge no entry fee, so this gambling budget is basically all you need.

The level of the minimum bet differs from casino to casino, however, so the same budget of about $200 will last for a different number of bets depending on where you play. If your budget is small, choosing a casino with a lower minimum bet will make it go further.

Most mass-market baccarat tables in Macau now average a minimum bet of about HK$2,000, while a few lower-limit areas start from about HK$300. During busy periods such as weekends and Chinese New Year, many tables raise their minimum bet further. If you plan to visit on a weekend, bring a little extra to be safe.

Exchanging Money, Leftover Cash and Credit Cards

Cash and Money Exchange

Exchanging your home currency for Hong Kong dollars is easy, but few casinos will change Hong Kong dollars back. If you have Hong Kong dollars left over, you can use a currency exchange at your hotel or the airport, spend them on other purchases, take them home, or leave them on deposit at the casino for your next visit.

Using a Credit Card

At many casinos in Macau, you can buy chips at the cashier (the cage) with a credit card, charged as a regular purchase. The fee is usually around 3%, and you need to show your passport when you buy.

Accepted card brands and the way fees are charged vary by casino. If you are worried about overspending, a debit card is another option. Deciding in advance how much you will spend on this trip makes your budget easier to manage.

Four Recommended Casinos in Macau

Macau has dozens of casinos. From among them, we have selected four that stand out for their size, reputation and character.

No. 1: The Venetian Macao

The best-known casino resort in Macau is The Venetian Macao. Modeled on Venice, the hotel is known for the canals that run through the building.

Its casino floor is one of the largest in Asia, with about 800 gaming tables in total. All of its more than 3,000 rooms are suites, and the resort also includes one of the largest shopping malls in Asia.

No. 2: MGM Macau

MGM, the well-known hotel group, operates two casino hotels in Macau. The smaller of the two is MGM Macau.

The hotel holds a Five-Star rating from Forbes Travel Guide, and guests are greeted by a large aquarium and an art gallery. A directly connected shopping mall adds to the convenience. The casino caters mainly to mass-market players, and its minimum bets are slightly lower, which makes it a good fit for beginners.

No. 3: MGM Cotai

The larger of the two MGM casinos mentioned above is MGM Cotai. With an art garden planted with more than 100,000 plants and luxurious guest rooms, it makes for a comfortable hotel stay.

Beyond the main gaming floor, it offers extensive VIP services, including a VIP villa complex called The Mansion, with 27 residences. The main floor also has high-limit rooms, so the casino can accommodate high-stakes players as well.

No. 4: Grand Lisboa

With its huge and distinctive exterior, Grand Lisboa is one of Macau’s iconic landmarks and a popular stop for tourists.

The casino occupies four floors and offers a wide variety of games, from staples such as baccarat and Sic Bo (also called tai sai or dai siu) to poker. Dancers perform shows inside, so even just looking around is a memorable experience. The long-established Casino Lisboa is right next door, and we recommend visiting both.

Games You Can Play at Macau Casinos

If this is your first visit, start with the games that are easiest to learn.

Sic Bo, Baccarat, Blackjack and Roulette

The approximate house edge for each game is listed in the table in the next section, “Can You Win at Macau Casinos?”

Sic Bo and baccarat have simple rules and are two of the most popular games in Macau. Baccarat also offers the squeeze, in which the cards are turned over slowly for dramatic effect, and its house edge is low, so it is the game we most recommend for first-time players.

Blackjack involves more strategy, and learning basic strategy lets you keep the house edge as low as possible. Even with optimal play, however, a house edge of about 0.50% remains.

Roulette offers a wide range of bets, from outside bets such as red/black and odd/even, which pay 1 to 1 (a $10 bet wins $10), to inside bets on a single number, which pay up to 35 to 1 (a $10 bet wins $350). Starting with outside bets makes the rules easier to learn.

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Can You Win at Macau Casinos?

The short answer is that, in theory, the longer you play, the more money you lose. Casino games are designed from the start to give the house an advantage.

How the House Edge Works

Every casino game has a built-in house edge that is designed to favor the casino. It is not cheating. It is a statistical advantage that comes from the rules of the game.

Any single round can go either way. The more rounds you play, however, the more this small difference adds up, and statistically the casino comes out ahead.

This is true of every casino, not just those in Macau.

Are Stories of Big Wins True?

You may come across accounts of players who won tens of thousands of dollars in a single night in Macau. These stories are not made up; such wins really can happen.

To understand them, though, you need to keep the idea of variance (short-term swings) in mind.

• The house edge is only a long-term average, and short-term results can swing far above or below it
• Big wins stand out only because they are rare and therefore more likely to be shared (big losses are shared far less often)
• If 100 people played under the same conditions, their results would vary widely. A few would win big, while most would see their money slowly shrink

Even when a story of a big win is true, the same thing will not happen to everyone. One night’s result is simply a swing within the range of variance, and it tells you nothing about whether you can win or not.

Managing Your Money

One frequently discussed strategy is the Martingale system. The idea is to keep doubling your bet after each loss so that a single win recovers everything you have lost.

This only works if both your bankroll and the betting limit are unlimited. In reality, every table has a maximum bet, and in a long losing streak your bankroll usually runs out even before you reach it. The system may make sense in theory, but it rarely works in practice.

Changing the size of your bets only changes how much your results swing; it does not change the house edge itself. The underlying fact is that no betting pattern changes your overall expected value.

Here are some money management principles that help you keep playing for fun.

• Before you play, set a limit on how much you will spend that day
• Once you have spent it, stop playing without hesitation
• Decide in advance on a profit target at which you will quit while ahead
• Do not add money beyond your budget to win back losses
• Take regular breaks so that you do not get too caught up in the game

Setting your own limits on how much you play is the best way to enjoy Macau’s casinos without worry.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most famous casino in Macau?

The Venetian Macao is widely regarded as Macau’s leading casino in both size and reputation.

Its casino covers more than 50,000 square meters and has about 800 tables and a large number of slot machines, offering almost every table game available in Macau. Everything about the resort is on an exceptional scale: an all-suite hotel and one of the largest shopping malls in Asia, with more than 150 restaurants and over 330 stores.

How much should you tip in Macau?

Tipping is generally not customary in Macau, and you do not need to tip casino staff. As a rough guide, about HK$10 is enough for service at a hotel, and at restaurants, leaving the small change from your bill is enough.

Are there casinos in Hong Kong?

No, Hong Kong has no casinos. Under Hong Kong’s Gambling Ordinance, casino gambling is generally illegal, with exceptions such as horse racing and the Mark Six lottery. Macau, also a Special Administrative Region, has its own laws that legalize the casino industry. This is why many tourists travel to Macau via Hong Kong to visit the casinos.

Can I enter a casino just to look around?

In general, yes. Most casinos charge no entry fee, and you are welcome to walk around the floor without placing a bet. Note, however, that taking photos and videos is prohibited. Staff may approach you if you stand near a table for a long time, so be considerate of others while you look around.

Summary: Pick a Casino Type from the Quick-Reference Table and Set a Budget Before You Go

Macau’s casinos are easy to enjoy, even on a first visit, as long as you learn the basics beforehand.

If you are planning a visit, start with the quick-reference table at the top of this article to see which type of casino suits you. To double-check your budget, go back to the budget guide section and work out the amounts in advance.

The casino is just one part of the trip. Set your own limits on how much you play, and enjoy Macau within a budget you can afford.