Macau Economy History Supported By Gambling

The Ventian, one of the largest and most luxurious casinos in Macau today. (bigstock.com/Benny Marty)

JAKARTA - Ethnic Chinese are known as great traders in the colonial era. They are willing to navigate the ocean to perpetuate trade activities. To Macau Island, for example. They not only settle for mere trading, but also perpetuate their hobby: gambling.

Gambling activities in Macau have become fertile. Gambling houses have sprung up. Therefore, gambling then becomes like Macau DNA. Moreover, Macau's economy is driven a lot from gambling taxes.

The dynamics of searching for spices in Asia not only attracts the attention of the west. The search for spices is also perpetuated by Asians themselves. Ethnic Chinese, especially. Chinese people visited many areas in Asia to look for spices and trade.

They come purely as traders, not mastering or monopolizing spices. This dynamic makes them comfortable and lives a life. In Macau, for example. An area that incidentally belongs to the Chinese government which was later controlled by the Portuguese colonialists.

The arrival of immigrants from China cannot be stopped because the Portuguese colonialists set up their trade posts. Portuguese colonialists are happy not to play with the tenacity of the Chinese at work. The arrival of the Chinese made all their life in Macau. Gambling is one of the most prominent.

Every day gambling activities are carried out. Gambling houses thrive. Portuguese colonialists initially didn't really care. However, the power owner began to smell the big profits of gambling. Since then, the Portuguese colonialists did not want to be left behind.

Gambling became a legal activity in Macau in 1847. Even though the Portuguese aspired to build Macau to be a religious. Gambling is considered by the Portuguese as a coffer of unfortunate profits if not worked on.

He started to tax all kinds of gambling. The results are brilliant. Macau is like a gambling city. Whoever comes to Macau then they are allowed to gamble. Moreover, then Macau's status as a free port allows it.

The history of gambling in the former Portuguese colony began when it was founded as a trade post in the 16th century. Immigrant workers from China made gambling a hobby. His starting gambling was perpetuated simply in the form of temporary kiosks.

Due to the increasing popularity of gambling among workers, in 1847, the Portuguese government of Macau officially legalized gambling and imposed taxes on its income. The Macau gambling landscape grew rapidly after Portugal handed it over to the People's Republic of China in 1999, wrote Chad de Guzman in his article on the Time Magazine page entitled An Empty Shell of What It Used to Be : Asias Gambling Mecca Gets a China-Backed Makeover (2022).

The gambling industry became more widespread when the Portuguese handed Macau back to China in 1999. The owner of the power does not take a headache in gambling matters. Even though China has banned gambling in some of its own areas.

Instead of banning gambling in Macau, the Chinese government actually allowed, and even participated in developing gambling. The Macau government has also begun to provide opportunities for foreign companies to open gambling houses (Kasino). From MGM to Las Vegasploy.

This condition made Macau the largest gambling center in the world in 2006. Gambling is also the largest contributor to economic development in Macau. All because of Macau's large area which is not too big to manage is a variety of investments, apart from gambling.

This narrative makes gambling profits able to facilitate all kinds of city development. Alias, gambling is able to become the main economic pillar of the city of Macau. Gambling can illuminate every corner of Macau.

Gambling is also the main door for tourism. This means that the owner of power also uses gambling as the main gateway for tourists to know all kinds of things in Macau. From historical tourism to culinary tourism.

In the last 450 years, Macau's economy has experienced ups and downs, just like politics. The tide started with the military industry which began to reject the trade in opium and slaves. When the two sources of money slumped, the gambling industry developed.

The Chinese and Portuguese also collaborate. The Chinese are used by the Portuguese for a variety of things. Some are workers, some are soldiers. Chinese people are also the determinants of the economy in Macau, even today. The narrative made that in the 20th century, there was an increase in the Chinese industrial capital and the working group in Macau, "explained Zhidong Hao in the book Macau History and Society (2011).