The hard rules at the door
The entry age for Macau casinos is twenty-one and identity documents are checked at the door, so carry a passport or ID card. Minors may not enter gaming areas at all — not even to walk through to the other side — and staff will stop them; with children, route yourself along the shopping halls and hotel lobbies. Some local occupations face additional legal restrictions. Rules and how strictly they are applied can change, so follow the on-site notices and staff instructions.
Photography, dress and behaviour
Photography and filming are banned throughout gaming areas, phones included, and this is enforced strictly — do not test it. There is no suit requirement, but flip-flops, vests and wet clothing may be refused, and VIP rooms expect more. Large bags and luggage generally cannot come in. Never touch someone else's chips, do not take calls at the table, and do what the dealers and floor staff tell you.
Cash, ATMs and currency
Casinos operate in patacas and Hong Kong dollars, with exchange and chips handled at in-house cages. Carrying cash across the border is subject to declaration thresholds, and withdrawals and currency exchange are subject to regulatory limits whose amounts and procedures are revised from time to time — go by the banks' and authorities' current notices. Never accept private exchange, lending or proxy-betting offers from anyone inside or outside the floor: such arrangements are high-risk and may be illegal.
If you do not gamble, the resorts still work
This is the part most visitors miss: the free shuttles, the shopping halls, the façade light shows, the fountains, the food courts, the hotel lobbies and many of the public performances are all open to people who never place a bet. You can spend an entire day in Cotai walking, watching shows, eating and photographing architecture without setting foot on a gaming floor. That is exactly how the Cotai routes on this site are built.
If you do play: set the ceiling first
Treat it as entertainment spending: before you leave, fix a ceiling you could lose without it affecting your life, carry only that much cash, and do not top up, do not borrow, and do not try to win it back. Every game favours the house over time, and no strategy, system or run of luck changes that. Set an alarm to cap your time — the absence of windows and clocks on the floor is deliberate. Alcohol makes your judgement worse.
When it stops being entertainment
If you find yourself chasing losses, hiding it from family, using living costs or borrowed money to play, or simply unable to stop, this is no longer an entertainment question. Macau runs responsible-gambling campaigns and support services, including counselling helplines operated by social-service bodies and a self-exclusion scheme that bars you from entering at your own request; large resorts usually have information points too. For current helpline numbers and service details, rely on the official notices from the Macao SAR government and the organisations concerned. Asking for help is not a failure, and earlier is better.