Macau: suspicious gaming transaction reports up 44.1% in Q1

Some 72.8 per cent of the suspicious transactions in the first quarter of the year were related to the gaming industry.

Macau.- Macau’s Financial Intelligence Office (GIF) has reported that 817 suspicious transaction reports (STR) were filed by Macau financial entities and gaming operators in the first quarter. That’s a rise of 13.5 per cent year-on-year.

There were 595 suspicious gambling transaction reports, equivalent to 72.8 per cent of all suspicious transactions registered in the first quarter. That figure grew by 44.1 per cent compared to last year.

Financial and insurance institutions accounted for 157 reports down 28 per cent when compared to the previous year. There were 65 reports about other institutions, down 27 per cent year-on-year.

Last year, the number of suspicious transactions fell from 2,435 to 2,199 with 53.5 per cent of reports pertaining to gaming operators. The figure represented a reduction of 9.7 per cent compared to 2021. 

During the first quarter, Macau’s accumulated GGR reached MOP34.64bn (US$4.29bn), a 95 per cent yearly increase but down 54.5 per cent when compared to the same period in 2019.