Gaming-related crime rate rose by 70% across 2025 in Macau, compared to the previous year, according to statistics from senior legal and governmental security figures.
The data, provided by the region’s Government Security Service (GSS), showed that the first three quarters of the year yielded increased results.
Although there is a makeweight in the reporting, the GSS attributes some of the increased figures to updated legislative and statistical reporting following the enactment of new laws.
Macau’s GSS reports increased gaming-related crime statistics
Key pieces of reporting have been released by the GSS in 2025, including the most recent, the January–September 2025 Crime Statistics and Law Enforcement Summary (December 2025), and the Assessment of the Impact of the Gaming Industry on Macau’s Public Security (September 2025).
Both paint a picture of criminal gaming affecting people and businesses in the Special Administrative Region (SAR) off the south coast of China, and of the impact of the Anti-Illegal Gambling Crime Law, which took effect in October 2024.
Secretary for Security Chan Tsz King recently presented the figures at a Government Information Bureau (GCS) conference on crime statistics.
Security Secretary sets out statistics for 2025
In the report published in September 2025, Chan underlined the increase in procedural cases compared to the previous year.
“According to data provided by the Judiciary Police and the Public Security Police Force, a total of 1,139 gaming-related investigation cases were recorded in the first half of 2025, representing an increase of 456 cases, or 66.8%, compared with the same period in 2024,” said the government official.
He then turned to the December reporting figures, noting that police recorded 1,737 gaming-related crime cases, up 70.1% year-on-year from 1,021 cases in the same period of 2024.
“Between January and September 2025, police recorded a total of 1,737 gaming-related crime cases, representing an increase of 716 cases, or 70.1%,” the GSS statistics read.
There is, however, a caveat to the reporting: the GSS states that analysts “adjusted the statistical scope of gaming-related crimes” following the introduction of the new law.
The GSS also acknowledged that tourism contributed to the shift in statistics, noting that international footfall introduced “greater uncertainty to the public security environment.”
We reported that Macau recorded post-pandemic highs in tourist impact since the middle of 2025, with hotel occupancy reaching 91%. In July and August 2025, the reportage highlighted $2.75 billion and $2.77 billion, respectively.
Featured image: GSS
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