Macau police have announced two more investigations into suspected casino proxy gambling, bringing to three the number of such cases publicised by the city’s authorities in the past eight days.
According to a Judiciary Police briefing on Monday, reported by Chinese-language Macao Daily News, the latest cases involved alleged bets, slot machine vouchers and gambling chips with a combined value of at least HKD97,350 (about US$12,412).
The two investigations involve separate incidents and two men from the Chinese mainland. They were said to have placed bets on behalf of people not physically present on casino premises, via live “telephone broadcasts” of gambling games.
The casinos allegedly used for the activities were not identified, though one was in Cotai, and the other on Macau peninsula.
In the first instance, an unemployed man, aged 39, was detained at an electronic baccarat machine at the Cotai venue, following information passed to police at 1am on Sunday.
He was allegedly wearing a top modified with a hole in it, to allow video recording of games via a concealed smartphone.
Police alleged he received betting instructions through a concealed earpiece from gamblers located overseas before placing bets worth about HKD8,000, per the media report.
The suspect denied accepting bets from third parties, claiming he was only “testing” the gaming machine. During that operation, police seized HKD19,350 in slot machine cash vouchers, two smartphones and a set of headphones.
At 1.30am on Sunday, the police received another report of a similar case at a downtown casino.
They confronted a 37-year-old unemployed mainland man, finding he was also wearing clothing allegedly with special alterations. The authorities said they could not determine the value of the alleged proxy bets or any winnings because the suspect refused to cooperate and had allegedly deleted relevant communications from his mobile devices.
During that operation, police seized HKD78,000 in chips, as well as the allegedly modified clothing, two phones, and a set of headphones, reported Macao Daily News.
Police said both men would be charged with the offence of “illegal operation of online games of fortune or online mutual gambling” and be transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office for follow-up.
Police said there was currently no evidence linking the two cases, although establishing whether they were connected would form part of the ongoing inquiry.
The latest investigations follow another proxy gambling case announced by police last week.
At the time, the Chinese-language radio service of Macao’s public broadcaster TDM had reported a 43-year-old male from the Chinese mainland had been detained on the morning of June 29, and investigated for allegedly used altered clothing to conduct a live broadcast – via smartphone – of gambling games in a Macau peninsula casino on behalf of “Chinese mainland” bettors not present at the venue.
In the June case, the police seized a total of HKD81,500 consisting of a mix of cash and gambling chips from the suspect. He was accused of making a profit of at least HKD20,000 from the activity.
He was said to have used “micro headphones” to receive betting instructions and place bets on behalf of others. Officers found a total of HKD40,500 in cash, HKD41,000 in chips, four items of altered clothing, four mobile phones, micro-headphone-connected receivers and smartwatches. The items were either on his person, or found in the room of a Cotai-district hotel where he had been staying.
The suspect allegedly testified to receiving about HKD1,000 per hour as remuneration, and from having profited from commissions. He was suspected of conducting at least eight illegal live-bet broadcasts at the same gaming venue since mid-May, via individual bets ranging from HKD500 to more than HKD1,000. The police investigation of that case is reportedly ongoing.
