The “significant increase” year-on-year in the number of Macau gaming sector suspicious transaction reports (STRs) in the first six months of 2024 was “mainly due to economic rebound and the significant increase in the number of visitor arrivals” during the period. That is according to a reply from the city’s Financial Intelligence Office in response to a GGRAsia inquiry.
Another reason for the increase was the “continuous investment” in resources by the casino sector to detect suspicious transactions, the office stated.
Macau’s gaming sector logged 2,181 STRs in the first six months of this year, representing a 56.7 percent increase year-on-year.
Transactions involving the conversion of cash into gambling chips without gaming remained one of the most common typologies of STRs within Macau’s gaming sector for the first half of this year, the office told GGRAsia.
In its emailed statement, the unit outlined the typical triggers for Macau casino STRs reported from January to June: “The STRs reported by the gaming sector involved different types of gaming activities such as chips conversion without or with minimal gaming activities; chips conversion on behalf of third parties; currency exchanges; and cash conversion.”
These patterns have been consistent since 2019, the office noted. It did not disclose the detailed weighting of each type of activity in the overall gaming sector STRs for the first half of 2024.
According to existing guidelines for the gaming sector, issued by the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau and valid since January 2019, suspicious transactions are defined as those related to gambling operations that exhibit unusual traits or complexity, indicating signs of money laundering or terrorism financing.
Reporting entities within the sector are required to register such suspicious transactions, regardless of the value of the relevant trade.
In its reply to GGRAsia, the Financial Intelligence Office did not disclose how many gaming sector STRs it had forwarded in the first half of 2024 for further consideration by the city’s Public Prosecutions Office.
