Macau's Prosecutor General Tong Hio Fong wants objective criteria written into the law to decide whether an unlicensed currency exchange amounts to a business. He raised it on 15 October, at the opening of the 2026/2027 judicial year. Many of those detained around casinos say they slipped for the first time. Running a business is a required element of the offence, and without further evidence prosecutors cannot show it. That is where the cases fail.
Caseload
For the 2025/2026 judicial year, running from September 2025 to August 2026, the prosecution service logged 892 gambling-related crimes, up 17.4% on the year before. Illegal currency exchange for gambling accounted for 493 of them, a rise of 20.2%. A standalone offence arrived with the law on illegal gambling crimes, in force since 29 October 2024, carrying up to five years in prison. Convictions run into the same evidentiary wall.
Court of Final Appeal president Song Man Lei said most money laundering cases rest on simple evidence and straightforward facts. She proposed letting a single judge hear them, to free resources for heavier dockets.
Licensed exchange
Licensed exchange inside casinos is untouched: Galaxy, Melco and SJM renewed their currency exchange permits in February. Police keep working the spots around the casino floors. Among recent cases, a jewellery shop in a Cotai casino was tied to illegal exchange worth $7.7 million.
The legal frame is strict on paper. Enforcement turns on proof. The prosecutor's answer is to narrow the room for interpretation inside the offence itself, not to raise the penalty. Operators and affiliate teams with players in the region should watch how courts start defining the marks of a business.
