Macau recorded 422 cases of gaming-related crime in the first half of 2023, an increase of 224 cases or 113% compared to the same period in 2022. Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak believes this is related to the increase in visitors and the recovery of the gaming industry.
Among the 422 gaming-related cases in the first half of the year, there were 77 cases of theft in casinos, an increase of 64, and 95 cases of fraud involving casinos, an increase of 54. However, the number of gaming-related crimes decreased by 546 cases, or 56.4%, compared to the 968 cases reported in 1H19.
“Last year was a year in which Macau and its neighboring regions were more seriously affected by the pandemic, with inbound tourists dropping significantly and the gaming industry also suffering,” said Wong.
“In the first half of this year, customs clearance measures for the pandemic were relaxed, the number of tourists increased, the gaming industry also recovered, and gaming-related crimes inevitably increased.”
However, “Compared with the same period in 2019, the relevant crimes have decreased significantly, and the overall ‘betting crime’ to crime ratio is less than half, reflecting that the deployment of police against the relevant crimes has been effective to a certain extent.”
It was also revealed that police detained 8,124 “money exchange gang members” in 1H23, an increase of 198% compared with the same period in 2022. Wong noted that illegal currency exchange has long affected the law and order situation of casinos in Macau and is more likely to lead to serious crimes, including homicides.
On 4 May, a 44-year-old mainland man killed another 27-year-old mainland man in a hotel in Cotai in a crime related to a money exchange gang.
“Legislation on illegal gambling law is now underway,” Wong said. “The police have the intention to criminalize illegal money exchange offences related to the gaming industry, or to assess that if criminalization fails to solve the problem, the possibility of raising the fines.
“The police will use large fines to frighten [money exchange gang members] away, prohibit them from entering the country and expel them from the country to penalize them, but the relevant legislation has yet to be examined.”
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