In Macau, officials are reporting that crime related to gaming is on the rise, especially within the past quarter. Secretary for Security, Wong Sio Chak, has released current findings in relation to gaming and crime, with a report from the police force. This year’s crime connected to gaming incidents increased as much as 34 percent+ with 679 cases on the books.

The city has seen a major increase in cases that involved loan sharking and unlawful detention. This activity has increased from this past March to June. In the first six months of 2015, the city has seen 170 cases of unlawful detention which is an increase of just over 112% based on year-on-year. Violent crimes based on these cases have increased by 3 percent.

Despite the increase in these types of activities, Wong has stated that so far, there does not seem to be enough evidence to show that the gaming industry has been negatively affected by the security issues in Macau. The police have cracked down on such activity and victims/suspects are not locals, in the majority.

The secretary stated that the majority of the criminal case took place inside the casinos. This means the crimes are not affected security of the public outside the venues. Wong also pointed out that there has been a decline of additional cases including violence that severely or directly affect the security of the public. Kidnapping, triad-related crimes or murders have not been recorded, with the number of crimes groups in the area staying at six. All of these groups have been busted.

Secretary Wong stated in the report that all authorities of security will be staying on high alert and will continue to closely watch the situations that arise to prevent any incidents from taking place. The possible impact to the casino industry by these crimes will also be considered, with any adjustments made as needed.