Crimes (“Law to Combat Gambling Crimes”) or Bill on Illegal Gaming Offences

out24

Unlicensed foreign-currency exchange (FX) for Macau gambling will be considered a criminal matter if the authorities there deem it is being done as a trade activity, regardless of whether it takes place in or outside casinos.

That is according to Thursday commentary from veteran legislator Chan Chak Mo (pictured), with the latest explanation of the local government’s intention regarding a bill with provisions to criminalise gambling-related unlicensed exchange. Mr Chan heads a Macau Legislative Assembly committee tasked with scrutinising the bill.

The planned legal change can cover transactions for gaming purposes done outside the city’s casino resort complexes, as long as law enforcement bodies were able to gather “sufficient evidence”. He noted at a media briefing on Thursday, that the bill was likely to have its second and final reading at a plenary session of the assembly “within this month”.

The criminalisation aim of the authorities had been announced in August, under article 11 or the draft ‘Law to Combat Gambling Crimes’. At that time there had been mention specifically of unauthorised exchange in gaming or non-gaming areas of casinos.

Under the updated commentary, any gambling-related foreign exchange activity that could be characterised as part of an “operating business”, could fall under the scope of the provisions.

https://www.ggrasia.com/irregular-macau-gaming-fx-to-be-criminalised-beyond-casinos/

out24

The Second Standing Committee of Macau’s Legislative Assembly has completed its discussion on the Bill on Illegal Gaming Offences, which will soon be put to a final vote after the full Legislative Assembly (AL) resumes this month.

The bill introduces a number of new laws to regulate illegal betting offences, including new provisions to allow investigators to conduct night-time and undercover searches for evidence, as well as a new statute to include “money exchange gangs” as a criminal offence.

The Chairman of the Commission, Chan Chak Mo, said the money exchange provision focuses on business whereby any person who conducts illegal currency exchange as a business and where the illegal currency exchange act is for gaming purposes will be in breach of the law.

Chan also emphasized that the bill not only covers casinos but anywhere within the city’s integrated resorts.

‘’The Government has made a lot of changes in the bill,” he said. “At the beginning it did not criminalize the illegal exchange of currency, but perhaps the situation has worsened and the government’s stance has changed.”

Chan added that the Second Standing Committee will refer the bill to the full AL as soon as possible, and that the bill will come into effect on the day following the government’s announcement after the vote.

https://www.asgam.com/index.php/2024/10/11/macaus-legislative-assembly-ready-to-criminalize-illegal-money-exchange-activities/

agot24

While the government has announced that harsher punishments for illegal money exchanges are coming to Macao, the move shouldn’t deter punters or negatively impact gross gaming revenue (GGR), TDM reports – citing comments from JP Morgan analysts. The investment bank’s statement came after gaming operators’ share prices tumbled in response to official word that further amendments were being added to the SAR’s gaming crimes law.

According to TDM, the analysts noted that gaming authorities had already been cracking down on illegal currency exchanges over the past two months. They implied that this month’s situation was unlikely to be any different on the ground.

JP Morgan estimated that August’s GGR would reach between 19 billion and 19.5 billion patacas, up from 18.6 billion patacas in July (though short of May’s post-pandemic record of 20.2 billion patacas). The bank added that its prediction “could turn out to be a tad conservative if the current weekly run-rates sustain towards the month end.”

https://macaonews.org/news/business/macau-gross-gaming-revenue-august-2024-forecast-jpmorgan-currency-exchanges-macao/

ago24

Friday’s news that Macau is to criminalise the unlicensed changing of money within a casino setting for the purposes of gambling, “could bring some noise and lead to near-term share price weakness” among Macau’s casino operators, says a note from Citigroup.

Citigroup analysts George Choi and Ryan Cheung stated: “In our opinion, the news about the Macau government’s decision to criminalise [unauthorised] money exchange activities could bring some noise and lead to near-term share price weakness.”

The institution further noted: “Although most players have their own legitimate ways to get their funds over to Macau – and these small money touts are unlikely [to be] the main fund facilitator for premium mass players – we are afraid that this negative news could add uncertainties and hurt the already fragile investment sentiment against the Macau gaming sector.”

Nonetheless Citigroup added that the latest visitor trends for the city’s tourism market “continue to show that Macau remains one of the top outbound travel destinations for mainland Chinese.”

https://www.ggrasia.com/macau-move-on-money-touts-may-hit-investor-mood-citi/

agot24

The Macau government is to criminalise the unlicensed changing of money within a casino setting for the purposes of gambling, including such exchange activity in non-gaming areas of such premises. There will be a penalty of up to five years’ imprisonment for those found guilty.

The provision has been added to the latest draft of the ‘Law to Combat Gambling Crimes’. Previously, the city’s authorities had indicated they were not minded to add such a step to the bill.

The information on the change of mind was given on Friday at the city’s Legislative Assembly by Chan Chak Mo (pictured, right), a veteran legislator who heads a committee tasked with scrutinising the bill. He was relaying information passed to the committee, by the city’s government.

He was speaking to the media following a closed-doors meeting of the committee.

Mr Chan mentioned that those found guilty of such an offence could also face a Macau casino entry ban of “two to 10 years” in length.

https://www.ggrasia.com/macau-to-criminalise-unlicensed-money-exchange-in-casinos/

jul24

Macau’s new legislation against illegal gambling will only target activities that take place in public places.

The latest development follows a discussion between a Legislative Assembly committee and government officials on Monday.

Under the legislation, which will allow searches of residences, only gambling activities that involve money will be considered illegal, with offences punishable by a fine of between MOP1,500 and MOP5,000.

However, those that take place privately, such as home-based mahjong games, do not constitute an offence.

Other examples include non-profit mahjong games held in a clubhouse and chess games in the park.

Chan Chak Mo, who heads the committee, stressed that this is because these leisure activities do not involve money, explaining that “setting up an unfinished Chinese chess game in a public park and charging MOP5 per game could potentially be a violation of the law”.

https://www.macaubusiness.com/new-bill-against-illicit-gambling-excludes-private-games/

jun24

Macau’s draft “Law to Combat Gambling Crimes” does not specifically cover the issue of unauthorised money change touts in or around casinos, and whether to criminalise such activity, affirmed on Thursday a veteran legislator in charge of the Legislative Assembly committee scrutinising the bill.

Chan Chak Mo nonetheless told local media after a closed-doors committee session that the Macau authorities were paying attention to that matter. He said the Macau government attached great importance to such money change activity’s adverse effects on society, security, the wider economy and what he termed the orderly development of the city’s casino industry.

The Legislative Assembly had given a first reading on February 28 to the Law to Combat Gambling Crimes, an update to the city’s existing Illegal Gambling Regime, known as Law No.8/96/M, which is nearly 30 years old. The new draft law covers matters such as “preventive detention” in relation to gambling crimes, including the practice of under-the-table betting via the “multiplier”.

Mr Chan noted in his Thursday comments that Article 10 of the bill does cover the topic of illegal lending for the purpose of gambling.

He said that meant provision of money – or any other resources for the purposes of gambling – to others with the intention of obtaining property benefits for oneself or others. This, he said, was punishable by one to five years of imprisonment.

On June 3, media in mainland China had reported that Beijing wanted to interrupt what was termed the “entire industry chain” relating to another thorny issue for the Macau casino sector: illicit exchange of currency.

In September last year, Macau’s Secretary for Security, Wong Sio Chak, said that criminalisation of such money exchange was an option for the city’s government, though didn’t go into specifics.

In late May this year, Secretary Wong said money change gangs had become increasingly “corporatised and professional” and had “long been disturbing” the security environment of the city’s casinos and their surroundings.

Bets in Macau casinos are mostly denominated in Hong Kong dollars, and most customers of the city’s casinos are from the Chinese mainland, where their assets are in likelihood mainly denominated in Chinese yuan.

There are also limits on cash amounts that individuals can transfer from the mainland to Macau, and industry commentators say the money touts may also be involved in helping people get around those limits.

Several Chinese media outlets have recently reported cases of mainland visitors to Macau having their mainland bank accounts frozen for suspected money laundering, after they had allegedly used touts to engage in cross-border money transfer.

https://www.ggrasia.com/money-touts-not-in-macau-gaming-crime-bill-legislator/

+The Second Standing Committee of the Macau Legislative Assembly continued its discussion on Macau’s “Illegal Gaming Law” on Thursday, revealing it will not include legislation on the activities of money exchange gang members in the new law.

The decision comes amid concerns of an increase in the number of money exchange gang members coming to Macau to conduct illegal exchanges, with the number of documented crimes committed by “money changers” reaching 149 in the first quarter of the year – 42 more than in the first quarter of 2019.

There have, as a result, been calls for the government to discuss whether to criminalize the activities of money exchange gang members, while public security authorities recently launched a special work plan to combat illegal exchange crimes in Macau.

https://www.asgam.com/index.php/2024/06/13/macau-government-opts-not-to-include-money-exchange-gang-members-activity-as-a-crime-under-new-illegal-gaming-law/

 may24

Na apresentação dos dados da criminalidade do primeiro trimestre, as autoridades isolaram os números relativos aos crimes dentro da indústria do jogo. Neste segmento, foram feitos 351 inquéritos criminais nos primeiros três meses do ano, mais do dobro em comparação com o mesmo período de 2023.

 

Ontem, ao apresentarem as estatísticas da criminalidade no território durante o primeiro trimestre, as autoridades detalharam os números relativos ao sector do jogo e informaram que, nos primeiros três meses do ano, foram instaurados 351 inquéritos criminais neste âmbito, mais 193 do que no primeiro trimestre do ano passado, ou seja, verificou-se um aumento de 122,2%. No entanto, em comparação com o primeiro trimestre de 2019, houve uma redução de 87 casos, ou seja, 19,9%.

A justificação para o aumento deste tipo específico de criminalidade foi a mesma do aumento da criminalidade geral: o aumento de visitantes. “O número dos casos dos crimes relacionados com o jogo no primeiro trimestre deste ano apresentou certo aumento em comparação com o mesmo período do ano passado, e acredita-se que o motivo esteja relacionado com o aumento substancial do número de turistas e com a recuperação da indústria do jogo”, afirmou Wong Sio Chak, secretário para a Segurança.

“O aumento substancial do número de turistas, ao mesmo tempo que acelera a recuperação da indústria do jogo, conduzirá inevitavelmente a um aumento das actividades ilícitas relevantes, especialmente das actividades ilegais de troca de dinheiro que se tornaram mais intensas”, acrescentou.

Entre os tipos de crime relacionados com o jogo no primeiro trimestre deste ano, os casos de burla apresentaram uma “tendência de alta incidência”, com um total de 76 casos, ocupando 21,7% da totalidade dos crimes; a seguir surgem 63 casos de usura, ocupando 17,9%; os casos de furto foram 48, ocupando 13,7%; a apropriação ilegítima atingiu 45 casos, ocupando 12,8%; os casos de desobediência (violação da interdição de entrada nos casinos) totalizaram 32, ocupando 9,1%; os casos de sequestro foram dez, ocupando cerca de 2,8%, e os restantes crimes representaram menos 5% ou uma taxa inferior.

Segundo os números revelados ontem, os suspeitos dos crimes ligados à indústria do jogo são maioritariamente do interior da China (353). Houve ainda 67 suspeitos de Macau, 25 de Hong Kong, nove estrangeiros e três de Taiwan. Quanto às vítimas, a maioria também é do interior da China (203), seguidos dos residentes de Macau (36), Hong Kong (20), dois de Taiwan e um estrangeiro.

“Após a epidemia, a proporção dos vários crimes relacionados com o jogo no número total de crimes mudou significativamente, e a proporção de casos de burla aumentou, enquanto os crimes de usura e de sequestro, que tinham uma proporção elevada antes da epidemia, diminuíram significativamente”, afirmou Wong, detalhando que os crimes derivados dos burlões de troca de dinheiro foram dominados também pelas burlas. Os crimes de usura e sequestro diminuíram, salientou o secretário.

“À medida que a indústria do jogo de Macau recupera e o número de turistas continuar a aumentar, surgirão inevitavelmente alguns factores instáveis para a segurança”, alertou o secretário, ressalvando que “o actual ambiente de segurança relacionado com o jogo em Macau ainda é estável e bom”.

https://pontofinal-macau.com/2024/05/29/crimes-no-sector-do-jogo-foram-mais-do-dobro/