--- title: China: Kidnappings Spur Macau Casinos to Get Extra Insurance description: Macau’s glitzy casinos are taking out insurance policies to protect themselves against the abduction of guests over unpaid gambling debts canonical: https://time.com/4016636/macau-kidnapping-gambling-casino-china-abductions-insurance-corruption/ author: Mark Rivett-Carnac article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-31T04:03:46.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:01:51.566Z article:section: World og:title: Macau Casinos Take Out Special Kidnapping Insurance og:description: Guests with unpaid gambling debts are increasingly abducted and extorted. og:url: https://time.com/4016636/macau-kidnapping-gambling-casino-china-abductions-insurance-corruption/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltba5995acc5545ee4/698861a0524fc041dadf44e7/rtx1q4c0.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Visitors from mainland China wait outside a casino in Macau og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Macau Casinos Take Out Special Kidnapping Insurance twitter:description: Guests with unpaid gambling debts are increasingly abducted and extorted. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltba5995acc5545ee4/698861a0524fc041dadf44e7/rtx1q4c0.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # A Wave of Guest Kidnappings Spurs Macau Casinos to Take Out Abductions Insurance by [Mark Rivett-Carnac](/author/mark-rivett-carnac/) ## Mark Rivett-Carnac Aug 31, 2015 4:03 AM CUT  Visitors from mainland China wait outside a casino in Macau on July 20, 2015 Visitors from mainland China wait outside a casino in Macau on July 20, 2015Bobby Yip—Reuters by [Mark Rivett-Carnac](/author/mark-rivett-carnac/) ## Mark Rivett-Carnac Aug 31, 2015 4:03 AM CUT Macau’s glitzy hotels and casinos are taking out insurance policies to protect themselves against a new threat to the house — the [abduction](http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1853763/macaus-casinos-and-resorts-take-out-insurance-policies "undefined") of wealthy guests over unpaid gambling debts. The risk of kidnapping has increased significantly in recent months as fewer numbers flock to the Chinese Special Administrative Region that also serves as the world’s largest gambling hub, reports the _South China Morning Post._ This partly due to China’s slowing economy, meaning falling revenues for moneylenders that rely heavily on tourists from the mainland. As Beijing limits the amount of cash visitors can legally take to Macau, many high-stakes gamblers use local loan sharks for ready cash, which can be perilous if the cards and dice prove unfriendly. As most kidnappings occur in guests’ rooms, hotels could face lawsuits from victims and their families. The insurance policies mitigate this risk with coverage for legal liability and crisis responders. The Macau government [reports](http://www.scmp.com/news/article/1853773/debt-recovery-detentions-rise-one-day-macau-casinos-china-cracks-down-illegal "undefined") that as many as 170 people were held against their will during the first six months of this year — more than double the figure for the same period of 2014\. However, these are only the cases the authorities know about, with experts saying the true total is likely much higher. According to Ashley Coles, an assistant director of credit, political and security risks at Jardine Lloyd Thompson, this has lent to a climate of fear. “Word of mouth can lead to a trend of an interest in the policy, security and the protection,” he told the _SCMP_. “All the major casino and hotel chains will have looked into this.” \[[_SCMP_](http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1853763/macaus-casinos-and-resorts-take-out-insurance-policies "undefined")\] ### See the Patriotic Red Army School Students in China  A child wearing a uniform waits to raise the national flag on Jan. 21, 2015 at the Beichuan Red army elementary school in Beichuan, southwest China's Sichuan province. Fred Dufour—AFP/Getty Images  Children sing after raising the national flag. Fred Dufour—AFP/Getty Images  Children sing after raising the national flag. Fred Dufour—AFP/Getty Images  Children march after raising the national flag. Fred Dufour—AFP/Getty Images  Children wait to enter their classroom. Fred Dufour—AFP/Getty Images  Children during class. Fred Dufour—AFP/Getty Images  Children take their lunch. Fred Dufour—AFP/Getty Images  Children during lunch. Fred Dufour—AFP/Getty Images  A boy waits at the Beichuan Red army elementary school. Fred Dufour—AFP/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4016636/macau-kidnapping-gambling-casino-china-abductions-insurance-corruption/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4016636/macau-kidnapping-gambling-casino-china-abductions-insurance-corruption/"},"headline":"A Wave of Guest Kidnappings Spurs Macau Casinos to Take Out Abductions Insurance","datePublished":"2015-08-31T04:03:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:01:51.566Z","description":"The trend is linked to harsher economic times on the Chinese mainland","url":"https://time.com/4016636/macau-kidnapping-gambling-casino-china-abductions-insurance-corruption/","keywords":["Macau","China","corruption","Insurance","gambling","casino","kidnapping"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltba5995acc5545ee4/698861a0524fc041dadf44e7/rtx1q4c0.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mark Rivett-Carnac","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/mark-rivett-carnac/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltba5995acc5545ee4/698861a0524fc041dadf44e7/rtx1q4c0.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Visitors from mainland China wait outside a casino in Macau","caption":"Visitors from mainland China wait outside a casino in Macau","creditText":"Bobby Yip—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/macau/","name":"Macau"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4016636/macau-kidnapping-gambling-casino-china-abductions-insurance-corruption/","name":"A Wave of Guest Kidnappings Spurs Macau Casinos to Take Out Abductions Insurance"}}]}] ```