From January through March, law enforcement in Macau reported a 61.5% rise in gaming crimes, with 567 incident reports, marking a significant increase from the first quarter of 2024. This surge in crime is attributed to the recent legislation outlawing unlicensed currency exchanges in the casino hub.
In June, Beijing intensified its efforts against illegal money changers who assist gamblers in circumventing government-imposed capital flight restrictions. By October, the Macau Legislative Assembly had enacted laws criminalizing these acts.
The ministry of public security has stated that these illicit exchanges are conduits for money laundering and are associated with various criminal activities such as fights, fraud, thefts, illegal immigration, and even 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, with the possibility of a 10-year exclusion from city casinos for convicts. Furthermore, the legislation has increased the penalties for illegal gambling, including side and parallel bets, now punishable by up to eight years in prison. Moreover, the law enhances police authority to enter and inspect suspected illegal gambling locations.
### Crime up despite fewer casinos
Despite a reduction in the total number of casinos – dropping from 40 in 2019 to just 30 today as reported by Macau Business – the occurrence of criminal incidents has escalated. Gaming operators filed a record 3,837 suspicious transaction reports last year, an 11.8% increase from the previous year and the highest since 2006 when Macau’s Financial Intelligence Office was established.
The proliferation of money changers coincides with changes in the VIP business sector, including the near-collapse of the junket trade. The State Administration of Foreign Exchange of China caps annual overseas withdrawals from Chinese banks at CNY100,000 ($14,000), a relatively small amount for high rollers accustomed to betting $25,000 per hand.
Of the 567 cases recorded in Q1, 132 involved money changers, accounting for more than 60% of the increase. Following closely were fraud cases, with 152 incidents or 26.8%. Other reported crimes included usury, theft, misappropriation, and defiance of casino exclusion orders.
“Casinos and gambling are widely considered breeding grounds for a variety of deviant behaviors and criminal offenses,” noted 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, concurred that casinos often lead to criminal activities such as money laundering, loan sharking, and prostitution.
The decision to criminalize money exchanges was propelled by the murder of a money changer who had recently won approximately CNY2.3 million at a local casino. He was later found stabbed to death in his room at the Wynn Palace in Cotai.
Macau experienced a spike in gaming-related crime in the first quarter of 2025, closely linked to the new legislation targeting illegal money exchange operations.