Japan's invasion of China began in the 1930s. As Japanese forces took control of most of the eastern coast from 1937 onward, the Chinese nationalist government moved inland to resist from its relocated capitals, first Wuhan and then Chongqing. By the end of 1940, the most important political, economic, educational and cultural urban centers in China had been occupied.

Surrounded by occupied areas, territories under foreign rule in China – such as the Shanghai foreign concessions, Macau and Hong Kong – became“lone islands.” Their neutral status attracted many thousands of refugees, resistance activists and relocated businesses. Lone islands became supply lifelines for the Chinese resistance and propaganda battlegrounds for opposing sides.

They experienced periods of economic boom fueled by the influx of refugees. And they were prime locations for the transfer of information and funds, as well as intelligence collection. Lone islands were also sites of humanitarian relief, connected to diaspora networks and organizations designed to support the Chinese war effort.

By the end of 1941, these spaces of neutrality were disappearing. The Shanghai foreign concessions were taken over by Japan and later handed over to a Chinese collaborationist administration, and the British colony of Hong Kong was occupied and placed under Japanese military rule. French-ruled Guangzhouwan, also in south China, was under de facto Japanese control by 1943.

Macau, which remained neutral throughout the war, stood as the last lone island – if always subject to Japanese influence. Macau's neutrality drew many from opposing camps.

In the late 1930s, most refugees to Macau had come from Shanghai and Guangdong province. The occupation of Hong Kong in late 1941 then brought another wave of displaced persons to Macau.

Stanley Ho was among the refugees who arrived in Macau from the neighbouring British colony. He joined his uncle Robert Ho Tung, a renowned businessman who also relocated to Macau during the occupation of Hong Kong.

According to Ho's own accounts , his wartime activities were the foundation of a fortune. Several other figures who would become important economic players in Macau's post-war economy, such as businessman Ho Yin, also cut their teeth during the second world war's climate of contingency and opportunity.

Working for the Macau Co-operative Company, established by the Japanese to manage trade between Japan and the government in Macau, Ho was involved in bartering materials in exchange for food supplies with Japanese interlocutors. He also had an English-Japanese language exchange with the Japanese intelligence chief in Macau, Colonel Sawa.

Through these activities, Ho made important contacts among the different communities who found themselves in Macau during the war. This included powerful intermediaries such as Pedro José Lobo, the head of the economic services in Macau. These connections exposed Ho to the popularity of gambling in Macau and the potential to take it to a different level.

Gambling had been legal in Macau since the mid-19th century. But it was during the war that we would see the origins of the casino-hotel model that is now prevalent in the territory.

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The leading hotels of 1940s Macau, such as Hotel Central and Grande Hotel Kuoc Chai, offered employment to refugee musicians and dancers and were sites of entertainment for those with funds to spend.

Hotel Central, one of the leading hotels in 1940s Macau. stefangde / Shutterstock

After the end of the second world war, Ho set up a company called Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau (STDM) with partners including Henry Fok, Teddy Yip and Yip Hon. These were businessmen with links to Hong Kong, mainland China and Indonesia.

In 1962, the same year STDM was founded, it earned the exclusive licence to run casinos in Macau, replacing pre-existing magnates who were more prominent during the second world war.

One of the key innovations brought by their company's casinos was the popularization of western-style games. They were also involved in philanthropic activities, much the way the wartime gambling tycoons had been, with Macau again seeing the arrival of many destitute displaced persons during the cold war.

Gambling has been liberalized in Macau since the early 2000s, and the territory has now surpassed Las Vegas to become the largest casino market in the world.

Helena F. S. Lopes is a lecturer in modern Asian history at Cardiff University .

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article .

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