927 barred from entering Macau casinos in first 5 months of the year
The bans were made for alleged involvement in money-changing.
Macau.- Sit Chong Meng, director of the Judicial Police, has reported that during the first five months of the year, authorities barred 927 people from entering casinos due to alleged involvement in money-changing. During a speech on Friday, Chong Meng said the decisions were made with the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ).
He said that in the same period, 1,942 unauthorised currency changers were banned from entering the city and 30 Macao ID holders caught had been referred to the Macao Monetary Authority, the city’s financial regulator. Meanwhile, the Judiciary Police investigated 579 gaming-related cases of antisocial activity, including a 66.7 per cent rise in gaming-related scam cases closely linked to currency exchange gangs.
The Judiciary Police probed 5,907 suspected crime cases in total, a 28.8 per cent year-on-year increase. Chong Meng said crimes related to gaming and tourism were on the rise but that money exchange scams had declined in recent months.
See also: Macau gaming-related crime rises by 122% in Q1
Macau’s new gambling law won’t address illegal money exchange
The proposed Law on Combating Illegal Gambling Crimes will not include measures addressing illegal money exchange, though the Macau government has not dismissed the possibility of legislation on the matter in the future.
Lawmaker Chan Chak Mo, the head of the AL’s Second Standing Committee, told media that while the new bill does not target illegal money exchange, the government is aware of its impact on the gaming industry and local economy. He said the government is considering introducing penalties, such as entry bans for the activity.
The draft legislation, intended to replace the existing Illegal Gambling Law (Law 8/96/m), passed its initial reading at the Legislative Assembly of Macau in February and is under review by the Legislative Assembly (AL). The proposal outlaws under-the-table betting, also known as side or multiplier betting and authorises undercover operations to tackle illicit gambling.
