Macau's casino sector posted 3,431 dubious transaction reports (STR) in 2023 - the most in a 12-month period since record keeping began in 2006.
The 2023 tally was also nearly three times the 2022 tally with COVID-19 travel restrictions still in place, and beat levels seen in the pre-pandemic trading year of 2019, according to updates from local government departments.
The 2023 Casino STR accounted for 74.4% of the 4,614 Macau STRs received across all segments during the year. The Casino STRs were up 191.5% year over year from the 1,177 recorded in 2022. The 2023 casino segment tally also saw a 79.4% increase to 1,913 casinos STRs in 2019.
The latest information from the Financial Intelligence Agency did not comment on the latest figures.
Macau's 2023 casinos gross gaming revenue (GGR) was MOP183.06 billion ($22.73 billion now). The figure is up 333.8% year over year. The 2023 GGR was 62.6% of MOP292.46 billion in 2019.
The Financial Intelligence Agency told GGRA in August that it had already expected the city's casino sector STR to reach at least 2019 levels in 2023 as gaming volumes were recovering and the sector was implementing more effective anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism (AML/CFT) measures.
Under the "large deal" threshold for financial activity at city casinos, operators are required to report transactions of at least MOP500,000 (currently US$62,075) to local governments. However, this does not mean that those transactions are marked as questionable.
In 2023, the Financial Intelligence Agency sent 116 dubious transaction reports to the city attorney's office for further review. However, the update did not specify economic activity titles related to STR, such as "The Game of the Fountain Operator," "Financial Institutions and Insurance Companies," or "Other Institutions."
BY: 바카라사이트