The crime of unlicensed money exchange in Macau for gambling purposes is increasingly being committed in a “covert” way, amid police action, but the city’s Judicary Police are keeping up the pressure on suspects.
That is according to Sit Chong Meng, the force’s director, speaking in a Thursday media briefing, and as reported by local Chinese-language media outlets Macao Daily News and public broadcaster TDM. The briefing was to discuss crime trends in the city last year.
Unlicensed money exchange for gambling purposes was criminalised under the “Law to Combat Crimes of Illegal Gambling”, which came into effect from October 29, 2024.
Mr Sit noted that from that date up to December 31, 2025, the Judiciary Police probed 567 cases concerning alleged criminal money swaps for gambling. The inquiries led to the arrest of 867 individuals, as well as seizure of cash and cash-denominated gaming chips valued at more than HKD94 million (US$11.7 million).
Some of the cases involved cooperation with police on the Chinese mainland in order to suppress what Mr Sit said were underground banks and “criminal syndicates”.
Bets in Macau casinos are generally denominated in Hong Kong dollars, while most of the city’s patrons are from the Chinese mainland, with assets typically denominated in Chinese yuan.
The Judiciary Police head remarked as cited by local media: “The criminal mode of operation has become complicated.
“The Judiciary Police will keep their vigilance, and continue to suppress any crimes” involving actions “disguised as shop operations but that actually involve illegal money exchange,” he added.
In recent months, there has been a number of Judiciary Police briefings – subsequently reported by local media – about shops either on Macau casino resort premises or offsite, allegedly engaged in helping customers to exchange money for gambling.
In 2025, the Judiciary Police recorded a total of 2,314 gambling-related crime cases, up 62.6 percent year-on-year, Mr Sit stated during the Thursday briefing. Most of the increase was tied to criminal money exchange, he added.
Also during 2025, the Judiciary Police recorded 192 cases of illegal lending for gambling; a 23.8-percent decrease from 2024. Cases of gambling-related serious crime and organised crime had been rare, he added.
