MACAO, June 22 (Xinhua) -- The number of casinos in Macao is expected to rise from the current 26 to 35 in 2010, local media reported Friday.

    The Macao Post Daily quoted Manuel Neves, director of the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, as saying that the local gaming and betting sector's annual gross receipts will hopefully reach 100 billion patacas (12.5 billion U.S. dollars) in2010.

    The top gaming inspector in Macao played down the worries produced by gambling-related social problems, according to the newspaper.

    "The government is taking preventive measures to minimize this possibilities," the official was cited.

    The city, with a population of 500,000, boasts the world's top gaming hut in the gross receipts.