Security forces say Covid dwindles 2022 crimes at casinos

Gaming-related crimes plunged by over 40 per cent last year compared to a year earlier, with the Covid-19 pandemic said to have been the reason behind the significant fall, the security authorities said in a summary today.

According to Judiciary Police data, 2022 only saw a total of 371 cases in connection with casinos – down by 254 compared to 635 in 202l –  or a fall of 41.6 per cent.

“On the one hand, 2022 was more seriously impacted by Covid than 2021,” said Wong Sio Chak, the secretary for security of the city. “There were fewer visitors to Macau last year.”

Fraud linked to currency exchange made up the majority of the cases the police authorities handled last year, with 86 cases of fraud recorded, down by 110, or 56.1 per cent, year on year.

More than 3,500 people were taken away by police in raids last year for allegedly committing the offence, with the most of them from the Chinese mainland in spite of a 55-percent fall in the total year on year.

“Following the optimisation and loosening of immigration measures early this year, offenders engaged in illegal currency exchange is likely to rise,” said Wong. “In the future, the police will strengthen their efforts against such offences, and stay alerted over their impacts on society.”

It was followed by disobedience to casino entry ban, and illegal possession of others’ properties, with the former 44 cases in total, down 31.3 per cent – and the latter 34 cases, a fall of 47.7 per cent, compared to the previous year.

The security authorities said that most suspects and victims of the cases were from outside Macau – a number almost double that of locals.