GGRAsia – Casino money change scam risk as Macau recovers: police

Casino money change scam risk as Macau recovers: police

Jan 19, 2023 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck

Macau’s Judiciary Police are proposing collaboration with local casino security and surveillance departments for a “targeted” approach to combat illicit currency exchange activities, a recurrent problem inside or around the city’s gaming venues, particularly prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Following the adjustments of Macau’s [Covid-19] pandemic control measures, the number of inbound visitors has surged in recent days and benefits the recovery of Macau’s economy. But that definitely comes with an uptick in security risks,” the Judiciary Police stated in on online update, posted on Wednesday.

Bets at Macau casinos are mainly denominated in Hong Kong dollars, but many of the venues’ customers are from mainland China, which imposes controls on the amount of China’s currency, the yuan, that can be brought across the border, per trip.

The illicit money changers have historically touted not only a better exchange rate than the official one, but also offered to process unauthorised cross-border transactions, according to previous statements by the Macau authorities. Sometimes, they have tried to offer worthless counterfeit currency or so-called “bank training notes” to unsuspecting tourists, according to past commentary by the Macau authorities.

In their latest update, the Judiciary Police said they had meetings to discuss the money-change topic with three of Macau’s casino operators respectively on January 12, January 13, and January 16.

About 40 managers in aggregate from either the security or casino operations departments of respectively, Sands China Ltd, SJM Resorts Ltd, and Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd participated in those talks, the Judiciary Police said.

The force said it had proposed a joint “task force” regarding the threat of illicit money changing. The police would also work on leaflet and video campaigns in and around venues, to promote to visitors the risks of engaging with unauthorised money changers.

The police said a preventative approach was warranted as such prohibited activity could not only cause “huge economic losses”, but was also linked to “serious” crimes including in some cases robbery and even murder.

Macau recorded 257 “gaming-related” crimes in the first nine months of 2022, a period when Covid-19 associated travel restrictions were still in place, according to the most recent official data published by the Judiciary Police. During that nine-month period, the police had “intercepted” 2,899 people linked to illicit money exchange activities associated with the gaming sector, a tally down 55.4 percent from a year earlier.