Macau: suspicious casino transaction reports in 2024 hit record high

This figure represents the highest annual tally since the GIF’s establishment in 2006. The office is tasked with collecting, analysing, and forwarding reports of suspected money laundering and terrorist financing to law enforcement agencies.

Gaming operators accounted for 73.2 percent of the total 5,245 STRs submitted across Macau last year, a citywide increase of 13.7 percent from 2023. This overall total also set a new annual record for the territory.

Out of the 5,245 STRs recorded in 2024, the GIF—integrated into the Macau Unitary Police Service last year—referred 142 cases to the Public Prosecutions Office for further investigation.

STRs are triggered by customer behaviours that may indicate money laundering activities, such as the conversion of chips with little or no gambling activity. Macau’s casinos are also required to submit large-amount transaction reports for transactions exceeding MOP500,000 (US$62,298).

Beyond the gaming sector, financial institutions and insurance companies contributed significantly to the rise in STRs, filing 1,097 reports in 2024—a 23.7 percent increase from the previous year. These submissions accounted for 20.9 percent of the citywide total and represented the banking sector’s highest volume of STRs since 2018, when 1,122 reports were recorded, the GIF said.

While the GIF did not disclose specific reasons for the rise in STRs in its latest data release, its 2023 annual report highlighted several common triggers within the gaming sector and beyond. The most frequent cause was the “conversion of chips without or with minimal gambling activity,” indicating potential money laundering.

Other recurring triggers in the city included irregular large cash withdrawals, unexplained currency exchanges or cash conversions, significant cash deposits from unverifiable sources, and transactions related to other crimes. Additionally, suspicious activities such as chip conversions, marker redemptions, or gambling on behalf of third parties were also flagged, the annual report indicated.

“The typology ‘currency exchanges/cash conversion’ has significantly increased as GIF received a large number of STRs related to frequent use of automated teller machines (ATMs) / cash deposit machines (CDMs) for cash withdrawal and exchange transactions in 2023,” the annual report said at the time.