Macau Casinos Allow High Rollers To Bet By Phone, With Plenty Of Hang-Ups — forbes.com

When New York City pioneered legalized off track betting on horse races in 1971, in addition to OTB parlors, it also established phone betting services. An ad from those days touted the ease of phone betting, with the satisfied customer explaining the simple steps to a friend, then in conclusion declaring, “…and boom, I get my action from over the phone!” Macau is another place where, boom, you can get your action from over the phone, not on horses but on baccarat. Tony Tong, a Macau junket promoter investor and adviser with Pacific Financial Services, estimates phone betting accounted for 10% of VIP revenue, about $3 billion, last year. Perhaps more amazing, the technology for phone betting is largely straight out of 1971. Sure people use mobile phones now, but a land line or pay phone would work just as well.

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