The figure was up 61.8 per cent in year-on-year terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Macau.- The Office of the Secretary for Security in Macau has reported that\u00a0gaming-related crimes rose 61.8 per cent\u00a0year-on-year to\u00a0683\u00a0in the first half of the year. The figure remained 29.4 per cent lower than in 2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Authorities attributed the rise to the increase in visitor traffic and the recovery of the gaming industry. Cumulatively, Macau received nearly 19.75 million visitors<\/a> in the first seven months of the year. The figure was up by 37.1 per cent compared to the same period last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Casino-related scams accounted for 23.3 per cent of cases, with 159 instances. That’s an increase of 67.4 per cent in year-on-year terms. Among these cases, 82 instances involved currency exchange, reflecting a 90.7 per cent rise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There were also 262 other instances of unlicensed money exchange in the first half of the year outside of casinos, which aren’t included in the count of gaming-related incidents. Police conducted checks on 2,215 people in connection with illicit money exchange.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some 122 cases of usury, or loan sharking, linked to gambling were detected, an increase of 293.5 per cent in year-on-year terms. Police dealt with 23 cases of unlawful detention related to gambling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The proposed Law on Combating Illegal Gambling Crimes<\/a> will include measures addressing illegal money exchange, reversing a previous decision<\/a> to leave the issue out of the bill. Chan Chak Mo<\/strong>, the head of the AL\u2019s Second Standing Committee, said that under new amendments, unauthorised money changers could face sentences ranging from one month to five years in prison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They could also be banned from casinos for between two and 10 years. The proposed provision also covers hotels and performance venues that are ancillary to an integrated resort.<\/p>\n\n\n\nMacau\u2019s new gambling law to address illegal money exchange<\/h2>\n\n\n\n