The Macau Special Administrative Region (Traditional Chinese: 澳門特別行政區; Pinyin: Àomén Tèbié Xíngzhèngqū) [in Mandarin (help·info), in Cantonese (info)] ; Portuguese: Região Administrativa Especial de Macau [in Portuguese (info)], abbreviated as RAEM), commonly known as Macau or Macao (Traditional Chinese: 澳門, or informally known as 馬交 maa-gau) is one of the two special administrative regions (SARs) of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), along with Hong Kong. Administered by Portugal until 1999, it was the oldest European colony in China, dating back to the 16th century. The administrative power over Macau was transferred to China in 1999.
Besides historical Chinese and Portuguese world-heritage relics, Macaus biggest attraction is its gambling industry and casinos. Though many forms of gambling are legal, the most popular game is baccarat, which generates over two thirds of the gaming industrys gross receipts.
