From January through March, law enforcement in Macau reported a significant 61.5% rise in gaming crimes, logging 567 incident reports, a notable increase from the same period in 2024. This surge in crimes has been linked to the recent criminalization of unlicensed currency exchanges in the renowned casino city.
In June of the previous year, Beijing began a strict crackdown on illicit money changers, who have historically helped gamblers in circumventing government restrictions on capital flight. By October, the Macau Legislative Assembly responded by enacting laws making such activities illegal.
The Ministry of Public Security has stated that these unauthorized exchanges contribute to money laundering and precipitate a variety of offenses, including fights, fraud, thefts, illegal immigration, as well as more severe crimes like kidnapping and murder.
The revised Law on Combating Gambling Crimes now prescribes prison sentences of up to five years for those found guilty, along with a possible 10-year prohibition from entering city casinos for convicts.
Additionally, the amended legislation has escalated the penalties for illegal gambling, with side bets and parallel betting now facing up to eight years in prison. The law also enhances police authority, empowering them to enter and search locations suspected of hosting illegal gambling operations.
### Crime up despite fewer casinos
Despite the reduction in the total number of casinos—from 40 in 2019 to just 30 today—the criminal incidents in Macau have escalated, as noted by Macau Business.
Gaming operators submitted a record 3,837 suspicious transaction reports last year, marking an 11.8% increase from the previous year and hitting the highest amount since 2006 when the Financial Intelligence Office was established.
This rise in illicit currency exchanges aligns with changes in the VIP gaming sector, including the sharp decline of the junket trade. The State Administration of Foreign Exchange in China restricts overseas withdrawals from Chinese banks to a mere CNY100,000 ($14,000) annually—insignificant for high rollers accustomed to betting $25,000 per hand.
Within the 567 cases documented in the first quarter, 132 involved money changers, accounting for over 60% of the rise. Fraud followed, with 152 incidents or 26.8%. The remainder included usury, theft, misappropriation, and violations of casino exclusion orders.
“Casinos and gambling are widely considered to be breeding grounds for a range of deviant behavior and criminal offenses,” commented researcher Quan Fang from the School of Law at Macau University of Science and Technology.
Sonny Shiu-Hing Lo, an expert on crime in Macau, echoed this sentiment, noting that “casinos lead to activities such as white money laundering, loan sharking, and prostitution.”
The legislative changes to criminalize money exchanges were partly triggered by the murder of a money changer, who had recently won approximately CNY2.3 million at a local casino and was later found stabbed to death in his room at the Wynn Palace on Cotai.
Macau witnessed a spike in gaming-related crime in the first quarter of 2025, largely attributed to the new legal provisions targeting money exchange operations.