Macau casinos and junket operators are largely observing the week-old ban on telephone ‘proxy’ betting at gaming tables, according to the city’s top gaming regulator.

Monday, May 9 was the first day that Macau casinos were required to prohibit the use of mobile phones at gaming tables and Paulo Martins Chan, head of the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ), said the week had passed without rampant rule-breaking.

Macau Business Daily quoted Chan saying there were “only few” violations observed on May 9, while the number “went up a bit on the second day,” although Chan declined to offer specific figures.

Given the recent introduction of the new policy, Chan said DICJ inspectors were currently only giving warnings to offenders, most of whom “usually stop using their phones” as a result. However, inspectors and casinos will each have the right to bar repeat offenders from entering casinos.