Macau plans to make it a crime to deal in illicit currency exchanges

 An amendment to Macau's "Law to Combat Gambling Crimes" established criminal sanctions for illicit currency trades.  Offenders might face sentences of up to five years in prison under the proposed amendment, which will be considered during the next legislative session.
 Cityscape of Macau
 Officials in Macau's government unveiled new legislation on Friday that would make it a crime to conduct illegal currency swaps within the city's casinos.  According to Chan Chak Mo, chairman of the legislative assembly, a vote on the bill is expected to take place before the year ends.

 The "Law to Combat Gambling Crimes" is being revised to include a provision that could lead to prison sentences of up to five years.  City casinos would be off-limits to criminals for a period of two to ten years.  But there are no consequences for gamblers who use the unofficial markets.

 People from the mainland who bet use illegal money exchanges  China get around Beijing's regulations on offshore investing and gambling.

 Repression initiated by the government in June
 A crackdown on illicit money transactions, without criminal penalties, was launched in June by Macau's minister of public security.  The ministry established a connection between the operations and several crimes, including kidnapping, murder, fraud, theft, money laundering, and loan sharking.

 It was announced on 9 August, a few days after a man involved in the transaction was murdered—whether it was a coincidence or not.  The body of the man, who had suffered multiple stab wounds to the neck and head, was found in his hotel room in Cotai on August 7th.

 According to reports in the local media, he had been involved with a money-exchange group since the start of the year.  He won over HK$2.5 million (£251,000/€293,500/$321,000) at a local casino right before the crime.

 An individual from mainland China and a lady from Hong Kong were apprehended as suspects in the matter.  Allegedly, both were involved in the illegal transactions as well.

 What happens to the finances
 Lower gaming income in June and July was partially caused, according to analysts, by the government's tighter stance on illegal money exchanges.

 The proposed modification caused a decline in the stock price of Macau casinos.  Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd. fell by as much as 5.7% on the Bloomberg Intelligence index.  A 5.2% drop was recorded in the share price of Sands China Ltd.

 The analysts at Citigroup noted that "this negative news could add uncertainties and hurt the already fragile investment sentiment" against Macau gambling.

 Macau is the sole Chinese territory where gambling is permitted, and officials claim that the crimes have "seriously affected social stability" there.  Their goal is to break the "entire industry chain" by strategic measures like stricter border controls, which they have promised to implement.

 Approximately 1,900 unlicensed money changers were detained and barred from entering Macau during police sting operations that took place in May.  Nine hundred and twenty-seven of them were reported to the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) and subsequently barred from the thirty-plus casinos in the city.

 Thirty Macanese were discovered to have been involved in the illicit activities within the same five-month span.