The number of suspicious transaction reports (STRs) filed by Macao’s casino sector fell by 9.5 percent year-on-year in the first nine months of 2025, GGR Asia reports, citing figures from the Unitary Police Service’s Financial Intelligence Office.
However, the figure climbed 4.1 percent in the third quarter when compared with the same period last year.
From January to September, the gambling industry submitted 2,751 STRs. That’s 73.3 percent of economy-wide STRs, which totalled 3,752 for the period. The overall number was down 8.9 percent compared with the first nine months of 2024 – a record-high year for the reports.
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The Financial Intelligence Office has previously attributed the year’s initial decline in gambling-related STRs to Macao’s “economic slowdown.” The office also stated that reports from casinos typically involve activities such as exchanging chips with little or no gambling, or converting chips on behalf of other people.
“The STRs reported by the gaming sector involved different types of gaming activities such as chips conversion without or with minimal gaming activities, chips conversion on behalf of third parties, etc,” the office said.
According to the Monetary Authority of Macao, examples of suspicious transactions can involve large sums that are inconsistent with a business’s regular activities, as well as the frequent transfer of funds overseas within a short period of time.
