On Friday, Secretary for Security in Macau, Wong Sio Chak, revealed that the city’s gaming-related crimes had dropped significantly compared to 2021. Chak considers it an excellent sign for the Macau gambling market.

The decline is 41.6% less than it was the year before. In 2021, there were recorded 635 incidents involving the gambling business; in 2022, there were just 371 cases.

The number of instances involving fraud dropped from 86 in 2021 to 86 in 2022, a 56.1% decrease. Moreover, the number of ordered cases declined by 31.3%, totaling just 44 instances in 2022.

There were also 34 instances of improper appropriation, significantly less than the prior year (47.7%). With 33 instances of loan sharking, the total number fell by 53.5%, and the 26 theft cases reported amounted to a 40.9% decrease, according to World Casino News.

Most of the 272 individuals connected to the crimes were from the mainland. Only 147 Macau residents and 10 Hong Kong citizens combined to make up the remaining individuals.

Most of the time, the victims of these gaming-related crimes are also reported from the Mainland, with the number of mainland victims reaching 129. Some Macau residents were also affected, with 72 cases recorded. Hong-Kong visitors were the safest, with only 10 cases reported.

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the island harder in 2022; therefore, there were fewer visitors than in 2021, according to the police, who said the variation in Macau’s visitor numbers is expected, given the outcomes.

In his official statement, Chak said, “The SAR government launched the gambling license bidding process in September last year and announced the results in late November. No negative impact from the gambling license bidding on public order has been found.”

“According to relevant information and intelligence, no triad organizations or members related to the gambling industry were found … last year due to the introduction of new gambling laws and the downturn in the gambling industry,” Chak added.