Gaming-related suspicious transaction reports in Macau up 30.2% in first 9 months of the year

Some 3,041 suspicious transactions were related to gaming.

Macau.- The Financial Intelligence Office (FIO) has reported that casino operators filed 3,041 Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) in the first nine months of the year, an increase of 30.2 per cent year-on-year. Gaming accounted for 73.8 per cent of all STRs. The figure compares with 2,335 reports in the same period last year, when gaming accounted for 73.5 per cent of STRs.

Suspicious transaction reports across all sectors totalled 4,118 in the reported period, up from 3,178 in the first nine months of 2023. Financial and insurance institutions accounted for 843 reports, 20.5 per cent of the total and a rise of 36.6 per cent in year-on-year terms. The other institutions category accounted for 234 reports or 5.7 per cent of the total, up 3.5 per cent.

In 2023, casino operators filed 3,431 STRs, up from 1,177 in 2022.

Gambling regulation in Macau: new law likely to get final reading this month

Chan Chak Mo, the head of the Second Standing Committee, has said that the proposed Law on Combating Illegal Gambling Crimes is likely to have its second and final reading at a plenary session of the legislative assembly this month. At a press conference on Thursday (October 10). Chak Mo also gave details on the scope of the bill, saying it would criminalise unauthorised currency exchange when carried out for gambling purposes regardless of whether it occurs inside or outside casinos.

The intent to criminalise illegal money exchange was announced in August. Any gambling-related foreign exchange activity that could be considered part of a business operation could fall under its provisions.

Chan said police would need to obtain evidence, such as testimony from the unlicensed currency trader or the client of the illicit money exchange trader, to prove that a transaction is for gambling. Those found guilty could face up to five years in prison and a ban from Macau casinos for two to 10 years . The Macau government has frequently cited unlicensed currency exchange as a public security concern, associating it with violence and fraud.