Macau’s illegal gambling soars 389%, authorities assure stability
Macau has witnessed a dramatic surge in illegal gambling incidents in 2024, with authorities recording 137 cases, a 389.3 percent increase compared to the 28 cases identified in 2023, according to statistics revealed on 27 February 2025 by the city’s secretary for security, Wong Sio Chak.
“We’ve seen a significant increase in gaming-related offences as tourism and the gaming industry have recovered throughout the year,” Wong explained during the announcement. Despite this concerning trend, he emphasised that these figures still represent a 32.5 percent reduction compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
“The security risks generated by the industry are preventable and controllable,” Wong assured, attributing the overall decrease from 2019 figures to targeted preventive and suppressive measures implemented by the police force.
Crime sees alarming Y-o-Y surge
In total, Macau recorded 1,456 gaming-related crimes in 2024, marking a 31.5 percent rise from the previous year. Among these, fraud cases featured prominently, with 333 incidents recorded, up from 258 in 2023. Of these fraud cases, 169 involved unlicensed money exchange activities.
Another concerning development was the sharp increase in cases related to illegal gambling websites, which rose more than threefold from 20 cases in 2023 to 70 in 2024.
The broader crime landscape in Macau also showed an upward trend, with police initiating 14,298 criminal case investigations in 2024, a 6 percent year-on-year increase and a slight 0.8 percent rise compared to 2019 figures. This overall increase was primarily driven by a rise in fraud and computer-related crimes.
Internet-related fraud also saw an increase, with 932 cases recorded—38 more than in 2023 and 618 more than in 2019. Common tactics included investment fraud (often referred to as “pig butchering”), ticket sale scams, and online shopping fraud.
Looking ahead, Wong stated that “Macau’s security authorities would continue to monitor closely the changing trends of crimes related to gaming, and continuously strengthen and optimise preventive and suppressive work, adjusting law enforcement arrangements as appropriate.”
Legal reforms target rising crime
The implementation of the “Law to Combat Crimes of Illegal Gambling”, which came into effect on 29 October 2024, has provided what Wong described as an “important legal basis” for Macau authorities to tackle gaming-related crime more effectively.
This new legislation has largely criminalised unlicensed money exchange for gambling purposes, a provision under which police initiated 89 cases last year alone.
Despite the concerning figures, authorities maintain that serious violent crime, drug-related crime, gambling-related crime, theft, and robbery all remained significantly lower in 2024 compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019, suggesting that targeted enforcement strategies may be yielding some positive results in specific areas.
