According to local media, four arrests were made in total by the Judiciary Police after suspicions arose following the discovery of fake chips in three casinos operated by the same company in Cotai and NAPE.
The suspects were alleged to have targeted gamblers near casino premises, offering to exchange counterfeit chips for cash.
In one example, a suspect allegedly attempted to exchange seven HK$10,000 ($1283) chips with a male gambler in Cotai, while further investigations revealed 18 more chips in circulation across the three casinos.
In total, the scammers are alleged to have defrauded gamblers out of HK$210,000 ($26,900).
All four claimed that they were hired by a crime syndicate and were promised a minimum of US$2,800 if the scam was successful. They have been charged with involvement in a criminal organisation and large-scale fraud.
Not a new problem
Given Macau’s status as Asia’s largest gambling hub, it is not surprising that the region has been targeted by criminal activity.
In January 2025, a trio of suspects were accused of defrauding a Macau casino of $75,000 through distributing fake chips.
More recently, gamblers lost HK$330,000 ($42,370) after being deceived by money changers.
Though only relatively small sums, this activity will still represent a cause for concern for authorities in Macau heading into 2026, as the jurisdiction looks to build on the positive momentum gathered in the second half of 2025.
The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau reported full-year gross gaming revenue of $30.8bn, up 9.1% from 2024 and beyond the government’s target of $29.9bn. The figure also represents 85% of pre-pandemic levels of gaming.
After a slow start caused by a number of challenging conditions, including the Super Typhoon Ragasa, the early months of the year experienced single-figure revenue growth.
However, fortunes turned a corner in May when the jurisdiction reported a 19% year-on-year rise in GGR to $2.6bn.
This surge was further backed by similar double-figure growth in the remaining months of 2025 – except for September. Macau closed the year with a 14.8% YoY rise in December, recording GGR of $2.6bn.
Setting a fraud-fighting trend
Meanwhile, in mainland China, President Xi Jinping has also spearheaded efforts to crack down on wider fraud and ensure that illicit activities aren’t able to take place in the country.
China elevated its strategy to tackle the significant amount of illicit funds within illegal gambling, a large chunk of which was being funnelled through crypto payments.
This action included the extradition of She Zhijiang, a Chinese national who is alleged to have been the mastermind behind a major illegal gambling network in Southeast Asia.
He was extradited from Thailand back to China, underpinning a level of collaboration across the continent when it comes to thwarting the leaders of illicit gambling networks.
Furthermore, as regulatory frameworks in neighbouring markets continue to shift, expect a number of syndicates to be targeted during 2026 as China and Jinping laser in on the illicit gambling activities taking place across the continent.
The latest efforts by China to detect and prosecute the counterfeit chip game aren’t an isolated case and may well set a trend for future action from China in ensuring that illicit gambling activities and fraud are detected and sanctioned.