Casino told to fork over jackpot won by minor

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Macau's gaming bureau has ruled that the Sands Macao casino -- operated by U.S. gaming giant Las Vegas Sands -- must pay an under-age player's HK$740,000 ($94,900) jackpot winnings to her mother, a local daily said on Saturday.

The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau -- Macau's gaming watchdog -- made the decision after meeting the 16-year-old girl and her mother, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post reported.

"We have decided that the money must be paid, not to the child, but to her mother," the daily quoted Manuel Joaquim das Neves, the territory's gaming bureau director, as saying.

Macau's gaming legislation states that persons under the age of 18 are barred from casinos, but it is unclear about how gaming venues should respond if minors gain entry and win.

In an effort to clarify the rules, the gaming bureau plans to add clauses to amendments that are currently being drafted, the report said.

The Hong Kong teenager was playing at Sands on Tuesday with her mother and grandmother, the paper said. She put HK$100 into a slot machine, and it stopped on the winning number.

Sands' staff refused to pay out when they discovered the girl was under age. The casino did not respond to the ruling, but has the option to appeal.

The gaming bureau temporarily barred the mother from Macau's casinos as punishment for bringing a minor inside, the paper said.