HK$2 million in fake casino chips seized in Macau this year

Macau authorities seized more fake chips in Q1/21 than in all of 2020, likely due to the fading of the pandemic

A total 65 illegal fake casino chips worth HK$2m ($257,644) were seized by the Macau’s Public Security Bureau, exceeding the entire year’s findings of 2020 in the first quarter of the current year. 50 of the chips represented a worth of HK$ 10,000 and 15 a worth of HK$ 100,000.

Over the course of 2020, 43 illegal tokens were identified, adding up to HK$ 1.51m, according to gamblinginsider.com. The surge this year is not be mistaken for a sudden rise in criminality, but is rather indicative of the decreasing impact of the pandemic in Asia, lower restrictions and therefore a rise in customers in land-based casinos. Nonetheless, Macau casinos have yet to reach pre-pandemic levels.

Additional to the chip incidents, a sum of 49 casino-related scams were recorded in Q1/21, with 27 of them being related to money exchanges.

Past month, illegal cross-border gambling has led to a wave of arrests in mainland China.

Despite the relatively high number of illegal activities in relation to the situation, crimes of the such are likely to be drastically reduced in the times to come. The Chinese state has recently conducted large-scale tests of its new central bank digital currency, the digital Yuan, which is designed to facilitate money monitoring and is planned to be implemented across the mainland, Hong Kong and Macau in the next few years, as was reported on AIBC News.

A public consultation on future gaming laws in Macau is planned for H2/21.

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