Macau police say gaming-related crime increased last year but at a far slower pace than in 2015.

Figures released this week by Macau’s Judiciary Police (PJ) show a total of 1,851 gaming-related crimes recorded in 2016, 19.2% more than the number recorded in 2015. However, 2015’s total was 38% higher than the 1,125 cases in 2014, so while crime continues to rise, it’s only rising half as fast.

As usual, the predominant form of gaming-related crime was forcible detention of unlucky casino-goers who couldn’t pay off their gambling loans. The PJ recorded 503 such cases last year, 37.4% higher than in 2015. But here again, the growth was slower than it was in 2015, which saw forcible confinement cases related to casino debts rise nearly five-fold from 2014.

Speaking to the media on Monday, PJ Director Chau Wai Kuong noted that the increased number of reported cases of gaming-related crime was partly a reflection of the PJ’s increased focus on cracking down on perpetrators, leading to the PJ having “successfully closed more cases.”