The number of suspicious transaction reports (STRs) made by Macau casino operators to the city’s authorities fell by 11.5 percent year-on-year in full-year 2022. That is according to data issued by Macau’s Financial Intelligence Office.
There were 1,177 such reports – representing 53.5 percent of all transactions flagged in the city during the period – versus 1,330 notifications made by the gaming firms in the previous period.
Macau casino gross gaming revenue fell by 51.4 percent year-on-year in 2022, to MOP42.20 billion (US$5.25 billion), as the demand in the city’s casino industry has been severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The city’s casinos are required to report to the local government any transaction of MOP500,000 or above, although that does not mean that such a transaction will be flagged as suspicious.
The total number of STRs received by the Financial Intelligence Office during full-2022 was 2,199, a reduction of 9.7 percent compared to 2021.
“The change was mainly due to the decrease in the number of STRs reported by the gaming sector and other institutions,” said the intelligence unit.
The tally of flagged transactions from the “financial institutions and insurance companies” sector fell by 3.5 percent year-on-year, to 765. The latest number represented 34.8 percent of all suspicious transactions reported last year.
Suspicious transactions under the “other institutions” heading tallied 257, down 17.6 percent year-on-year, and were 11.7 percent of the total.
