rate of gaming-related crime in Macau increased 15% year-on-year in Q1 2017 with a total of 432 suspected cases, according to police data.

The Macau authorities label gaming-related crimes as ones that take place within the vicinity of a casino.

Suspected cases of unlawful detention in Macau, which typically involve loan sharks connected to gambling, were up 18% to 105. However, crimes of usury also declined 16%. Individuals accused of “false currency” crimes nearly doubled from 50 to 95 cases.

A total of 445 suspects were presented to the Public Prosecutions Office on suspicion of gaming-related offences, representing a 5% increase to the prior-year figure.

Commenting on the statistics, Macau’s Secretary for Security, Wong Sio Chak, said the victims and perpetrators of the casino crimes were predominantly “non-Macau residents”.

Wong added that the year-on-year rise seen in gambling-related crimes was partly due to “better enforcement of the law”, and that the police saw no signs of such criminal activity spreading throughout the city.