Like its Las Vegas cousin, The Venetian casino in Macau offers gondola rides along a garish imitation of the Grand Canal, but it is the gambling that pulls in the punters. Crowds congregate around spinning roulette wheels and baccarat tables under the strip-light glare of the gaming floor. Amid the fruit machine jingles, the flashing neon and the flutter of chips and cards, some play the role of gawping, detached spectator, while others try their luck. The atmosphere is far from festive but then Macau’s gambling industry is, and always has been, a serious business.

For centuries, the region has acted as a melting pot of different peoples, cultures and desires. Gambling was legalised in the late 1840s by the colonial Portuguese government in a bid to bolster the economy after China ceded Hong Kong to the British in 1842. Since then Macau has promoted itself as a casino resort, successfully luring tourists and immigrants from around the world. Local gambling magnate Stanley Ho dominated the scene in the late 20th century but in 2002, three years after Macau was returned to the Chinese, his monopoly was broken up and 24 new casinos have since been built. Now governed as a special administrative region, Macau remains the only location in China where gambling is legal.

Macau’s gambling industry is now thought to be seven times bigger than that of Las Vegas. Last year, gambling revenue within the region was 360bn patacas (the Macau currency, equivalent to $45bn), up 18.6 per cent from 2012, and last month alone gambling revenue rose 40 per cent against January. Meanwhile, visitor numbers in 2013 increased 4.4 per cent year-on-year to 29.3m (18.6m from mainland China). Inevitably, the boom has not been confined to Macau’s casinos, it has also had a huge impact on the tourist, property and retail industries.