Macau’s Prosecutor General Tong Hio Fong has called for a review of the law on unlicensed currency exchange for gambling, saying prosecutors struggle to prove that suspects caught near casinos are running a business.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 2026/2027 judicial year on October 15th, Tong said many people arrested by police near casinos describe themselves as first-time offenders. Without further evidence, it is difficult to establish that their activity amounts to a business operation, which the offense requires.
He proposed introducing objective criteria for judging whether an activity constitutes a business, GGRAsia reported.
Cases rise
The Public Prosecutions Office registered 892 gambling-related crimes in the 2025/2026 judicial year, which ran from September 2025 to August 2026, up 17.4 percent from a year earlier. They included 493 cases of gambling-related unlicensed money exchange, a rise of 20.2 percent, Focus Gaming News reported.
Unlicensed money exchange for gambling became a specific crime under the Law to Combat Crimes of Illegal Gambling, in force since October 29th, 2024, and carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. Despite the new law, securing convictions has proved difficult because of the evidence problems Tong described.
Court of Final Appeal president Song Man Lei has also argued that most money laundering cases involve simple evidence and straightforward facts, and has proposed allowing a single judge to hear them to free up resources for more complex trials.
Licensed exchange remains available inside casinos. Galaxy, Melco and SJM renewed their currency exchange permits in February.
Police continue to target exchange operations around casino areas. Cases uncovered in recent months include a jewellery shop in a Cotai casino linked to $7.7 million in illegal exchanges.
