The Macau gaming sector’s total number of suspicious transaction reports (STRs) for the first quarter 2020 declined by 29.8 percent year-on-year.
Such reports numbered 356, compared to 507 in the first quarter of 2019, said information released on Friday by Macau’s Financial Intelligence Office.
Macau’s casino gross gaming revenue fell 60.0 percent year-on-year in the first quarter according to data released on April 1 by Macau’s casino regulator. The decline coincided with a large reduction in the daily number of visitor arrivals to Macau, associated with travel restrictions amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Suspicious transaction reports from gaming operators made up 58.7 percent of Macau’s 606 STRs in the three months to March 31.
Financial institutions and insurance firms accounted for 181 reports, or 29.9 percent of reports. “Other” institutions accounted for 69 reports, or 11.4 percent of the first-quarter total.
The first-quarter aggregate of 606 was down 13.3 percent on the 699 reports citywide in the first quarter last year.
The change was “mainly due to the decrease in the number of STRs reported by the gaming sector,” said the Financial Intelligence Office.
