From January through March, law enforcement in Macau reported a 61.5% increase in gaming-related crimes, documenting 567 incidents. This represents a significant rise over the same period in the previous year. The surge in incidents is primarily attributed to the recent criminalization of unlicensed currency exchanges in the famed casino city.
Last June, Beijing initiated a crackdown on illicit money changers, who have historically facilitated ways for gamblers to circumvent government regulations on capital flight. By October, the Macau Legislative Assembly took legislative action, criminalizing these operations.
The ministry of public security has indicated that these unregulated exchanges are conduits for money laundering and contribute to crimes such as “fights, fraud, thefts, illegal immigration,” as well as more severe offenses including kidnapping and murder.
Reforms to the Law on Combating Gambling Crimes now impose prison sentences of up to five years for individuals involved in such unauthorized currency exchanges. Those convicted can also face a prohibition from entering city casinos for up to ten years.
Additionally, the updated law has escalated penalties for illegal gambling activities. Side and parallel betting could now attract prison terms of up to eight years. The law also enhances police authority to raid and search premises suspected of hosting illegal gambling activities.
### Crime up despite fewer casinos
Interestingly, the rise in crime has occurred amidst a decrease in the number of operational casinos in Macau, with the number dropping from 40 in 2019 to just 30 today, as reported by Macau Business.
Suspicious transaction reports by gaming operators have also seen an increase, reaching a record 3,837 last year—an 11.8% growth year-on-year and the highest since the establishment of Macau’s Financial Intelligence Office in 2006.
This increase in suspicious activities parallels changes in the VIP gambling sector, including the drastic reduction of the junket trade, amid stringent capital flight restrictions by China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange. These restrictions cap overseas withdrawals from Chinese banks at CNY100,000 ($14,000) annually — a trivial amount for high rollers accustomed to betting $25,000 per hand.
Of the 567 cases recorded in the first quarter, 132 involved illicit money changing operations, accounting for more than 60% of the overall rise in criminal incidents. Fraud followed, with 152 cases or 26.8% of the total reported crimes. Other noted offenses included usury, theft, misappropriation, and violations of casino exclusion orders.
“Casinos and gambling foster a range of deviant behaviors and criminal activities,” noted Quan Fang, a researcher from the School of Law at Macau University of Science and Technology.
Echoing this sentiment, Sonny Shiu-Hing Lo, an author who has explored crime dynamics in Macau, stated that “casinos are hotbeds for activities like money laundering, loan sharking, and prostitution.”
These legislative amendments were prompted by a high-profile incident involving a money changer who was murdered after winning approximately CNY2.3 million at a local casino. He was later discovered, tragically stabbed to death in his room at the Wynn Palace on Cotai.
The first quarter of 2025 has seen a noticeable spike in gaming-related crime in Macau, a trend closely linked to the stricter laws targeting illegal money exchange operations.