The number of suspicious transactions recorded in Macau casinos, the world’s gambling capital, rose by 11.8% in the first quarter compared with the same period in 2025, according to official data.
The Financial Intelligence Office (GIF) reported that the region’s six casino operators submitted a total of 997 suspicious transaction reports related to money laundering or terrorist financing.
According to statistics released on Friday, the GIF pointed to “the increase in the number of suspicious transaction reports submitted by the gaming sector” as the main reason for the overall 10.2% rise.
Between January and March, the office received 1,356 reports, of which 73.5% came from casino concessionaires, 18.1% from banks and insurance companies, and 8.4% from other institutions and entities.
Sectors involved, including pawn shops, jewelry stores, real estate agencies, and auction houses, are required to report any transaction equal to or above 500,000 patacas (around €53,000).
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In 2025, the GIF received 4,925 reports, down 6.1% from the previous year, when the semi-autonomous Chinese region had set a record for suspicious transaction filings.
At the end of March, Taiwan’s Public Prosecutor’s Office charged 10 people with using Macau casinos to launder 33 billion New Taiwan dollars (about €893 million) derived from illegal online gambling.
Lusa previously asked the GIF whether it was monitoring the case, but had not received a response at the time of reporting.
In March 2022, the US State Department designated Macau as one of the world’s major money laundering hubs, pointing to junket operators and the illicit activities they often facilitate.
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This designation came despite the arrest in November 2021 of Alvin Chau Cheok Wa, head of Suncity, once the world’s largest VIP junket operator.
Earlier in April, organized crime experts told Lusa that Macau remains a “key node for money laundering” by criminal organizations, despite the dismantling of the junket system.
“Although large Chinese criminal syndicates have shifted operations across Southeast Asia in response to crackdowns, Macau remains an operational and meeting point for these deeply rooted networks,” said Martin Pubrick, a former Hong Kong Royal Police officer and expert in corruption and organized crime.
“Exchange houses, pawn shops, and credit card movements have absorbed this demand, which may mean that money laundering in Macau is now less centralized and less visible,” added John Wojcik, senior researcher at Infoblox Threat Intelligence and former analyst at the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
