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Niall Fraser

Police in Macau have broken up what they believe is a brazen gang behind a network of illegal “pop-up” casino VIP rooms in which gamblers were cheated out of millions in fixed card games.
Detectives believe the racket – understood to have been operating since 2015 – raked in millions from duped gamblers.
The gang, police said, lured punters to hotel rooms and other venues, which had been elaborately set up to look like the legitimate VIP rooms in the glitzy casinos of the former Portuguese enclave.
Officers from the Judiciary Police swooped on an unidentified hotel on Wednesday and arrested 19 people – 15 men and four women – from the mainland.
Macau’s former chief prosecutor Ho Chio-meng jailed 21 years for crimes including fraud and money laundering
A number of people involved in the scam may still be at large, and investigations are continuing.
In a meticulously planned and executed scam, gang members posed as security guards, dealers, VIP hosts, VIP room operators and gamblers, officers said.
Four “customers” were also found during the operation, according to a report by Macau’s public broadcaster, TDM.
More than HK$75 million worth of gaming chips and upwards of HK$200,000 in cash were also seized.
The suspects, aged between 35 and 53, were facing an array of charges from fraud to running a criminal syndicate.
The investigation began in June after a man told police he had been defrauded of HK$4 million.
It is the second time this month that mainlanders have been arrested in connection with casino-related crimes.
Last week, 15 mainlanders were detained and accused of running a high-interest loan-sharking ring targeting casino gamblers on the city’s showpiece Cotai Strip.
Macau tycoon Stanley Ho sued by former Beijing adviser for HK$3 million over a painting
In the first three months of this year 424 crimes linked to casinos and gaming were recorded, a 15.2 per cent year-on-year increase.
A total of 105 cases of gaming-related suspected unlawful detention were recorded in the first quarter of 2017, a year-on-year increase of 18 per cent. Authorities said the bulk of the unlawful detention cases were connected with loan-shark rackets.
The latest bust coincides with a renewed focus on legitimate VIP junket operators in the world’s richest gaming destination, following the release of official data from the city’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau which showed that between April and June this year VIP rooms for baccarat – the game of choice for big-spending gamblers – raked in US$4.46 billion in gross revenue, up 34.8 per cent year on year.
The VIP revenue surge comes almost three years since President Xi Jinping visited the city and spelled out a clear desire for China’s only other special administrative region next to Hong Kong to clean up its gaming industry and end an overreliance on revenue from VIP or high-rolling gamblers.
It is widely believed that for years the VIP operations have been conduits for dirty money flooding out of China. That has made the junket operators who bring in super-rich customers on lavish packages to spend millions in VIP rooms a prime target for Beijing’s continuing anti-corruption drive.
A big part of the central government’s plan for Macau involves transforming the city’s gaming industry into a more family-oriented, mass-market destination. But the latest official data shows a significant jump in the very VIP revenues Beijing wants to curtail, sparking fears that the world’s top gaming hub could face a fresh crackdown on dirty cash.


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Macau

Gang running ‘pop-up’ VIP rooms to cheat gamblers of millions busted in Macau

Police arrest 15 men and four women from mainland China, seize more than HK$75,000 in gaming chips and HK$200,000 in cash

Official data from the city’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau showed that between April and June this year, VIP baccarat rooms raked in US$4.46 billion in gross gaming revenue. Photo: Bloomberg

Fresh Beijing crackdown on dirty Macau cash anticipated as VIP casino revenues surge

Authorities have tried in recent years to broaden Macau’s appeal. Photo: Bloomberg

The MGM Macau casino resort, operated by MGM China Holdings Ltd., stands illuminated at night in Macau, China, on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016. Mainland Chinese tourists poured into Macau in greater numbers during the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, even as many shunned neighboring Hong Kong again this year, but gambling revenues extended an almost two-year slump as high-rollers stayed home. Photographer: Xaume Olleros/Bloomberg ORG XMIT: 605692059

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Hong Kong

Law and Crime

Police arrest 15 men and four women from mainland China, seize more than HK$75,000 in gaming chips and HK$200,000 in cash


Gang running ‘pop-up’ VIP rooms to cheat gamblers of millions busted in Macau

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Police arrest 15 men and four women from mainland China, seize more than HK$75,000 in gaming chips and HK$200,000 in cash

Police arrest 15 men and four women from mainland China, seize more than HK$75,000 in gaming chips and HK$200,000 in cash