A Macau lawmaker has accused the territory’s security authorities of moving too slowly against casino crime, saying recent illegal betting cases were not isolated incidents but part of organised cross-border activity.
In remarks to Macau Daily Times before Tuesday’s plenary session at the Legislative Assembly, José Pereira Coutinho said the Judiciary Police had dismantled networks inside casinos that used micro-cameras hidden in coats, ties, buttons, glasses and pens. Those devices, he said, sent real-time images of gaming tables to bettors outside Macau, especially in mainland China and Southeast Asia.
He said the activity was not amateurish or isolated, but a criminal enterprise with a pyramid-like structure, cross-border logistics and high illicit profits. In his view, it also undermined special gambling tax collection and increased the risk of money laundering and illicit financing because transfers abroad can bypass know-your-customer checks and suspicious transaction reports required under the law on preventing and suppressing money laundering.
Pereira Coutinho also criticised what he described as a reactive enforcement model. He said police action was often triggered only by anonymous tips, evidence gathered in unrelated operations or complaints from casino security staff, and argued that dismantling networks after the fact does not restore confidence or deter new ones.
He said such networks had been operating for months or even years at gaming concessionaires without being caught quickly by internal monitoring or periodic inspections. He suggested the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau and the Judiciary Police move from scheduled checks to continuous, random audits, using surprise operations to test each concessionaire’s internal controls.
The lawmaker also said casino security workers had told him there was no system for reporting many of the abuses they encounter, including loan sharking, illegal currency exchange and hidden broadcasting devices. He said many staff members refrain from intervening because they fear retaliation.
Pereira Coutinho said a group of three lawmakers believes the current criminal framework does not treat hidden audio-video transmission equipment as an independent aggravating circumstance and does not provide effective joint liability for concessionaires. He called for a law amendment, saying it was needed to preserve Macau’s role as an economic pillar.
The issue comes as the DICJ has also been stepping up its own response to illegal livestreaming of gambling sessions. On 16 July, it met representatives of the six gaming concessionaires, along with department heads covering security, human resources, operations and public relations, to discuss measures against mobile livestreaming used to facilitate proxy betting.
The bureau said technological advances have made some illegal betting methods more covert and promised to strictly combat illegal tele-gambling. It said it would maintain close communication with law enforcement and concessionaires, while urging operators to refine internal management, deepen staff training and streamline prevention, identification and reporting.
Concessionaires outlined measures including surveillance equipment, enhanced patrols, employee training, identification guidelines and notification reward mechanisms. At the same time, Secretary for Security Chan Tsz King said at a Thursday crime statistics briefing that the situation remained under control and the cases were still mostly isolated.
