Macau recorded 3,512 “gaming-related” crimes in full-year 2024, a 29.3-percent increase on the 2,717 identified in the previous year, according to the latest statistics published on Tuesday by the city’s Judiciary Police. The figure was down 35.3 percent from 2019, before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The figures for last year include 1,423 inquiries and complaints, up 28.6 percent year-on-year, but a 34.0-percent decline compared to 2019, showed the data.
The authorities recorded last year a total of 252 usury cases – i.e., loan sharking – related to gambling, up 111.8 percent compared to 119 such instances a year earlier. In 2024, the police handled 47 unlawful-detention cases, as compared to just 33 cases in 2024.
“Despite an increase in the number of such cases relative to 2023, those figures are still significantly lower than what was recorded in 2019,” stated the Judiciary Police in its Tuesday report.
It added: “The proportion of violent and serious crimes related to gaming incidents continued to decline, which is a very positive outcome of prevention and combat efforts.”
A total of 332 fraud cases related to gaming was recorded in full-year 2024, up 29.2 percent year-on-year, showed the data. The figure was down 27.2 percent compared to 2019.
The authorities said the increase in gaming-linked crimes was mainly the result of a rising number of tourists during 2024.
On Tuesday, the Judiciary Policy said the Law to Combat Crimes of Illegal Gambling represented an “important legal basis” for the authorities to crack down on unlicensed foreign exchange for gambling, and to ensure that a long-term effective mechanism was in place to combat gaming-related crimes.
The new law, in effect from October 29, criminalises unlicensed money exchange for gambling purposes.
Up to the end of December, the Macau authorities had arrested 120 individuals involved in 84 cases of unlicensed foreign exchange for gambling, seizing more than HKD11.0 million (US$1.4 million) in cash and gaming chips, according to the Judiciary Police.
