59 charged for illegal online gambling in Macau
The joint operation that caught and convicted the 59 suspects resulted in the seizure of cash amounting to nearly MOP8.6m (US$1.07m).
In total, 59 individuals have been convicted for their involvement in Macau’s latest illegal online gambling bust, which included an illegal sports betting ring with operations across Macau, Hong Kong and Mainland China.
According to Macau news agencies, the Public Prosecutions Office had made the announcement, where “the defendants are accused of criminal association, and illegal gambling for earning commissions from football and basketball betting websites hosted abroad.”
The authorities also stated that the operations have raked in over MOP1.08bn since its inception in 2016. The joint operation that raided the operations had seized nearly MOP8.6m in cash.
Of the 59 suspects, 2 are currently in pre-trial detention while others have been out on bail. However, all of them were banned from leaving Macau, pending charges that would carry up to 3 years of imprisonment.
Macau anti-crime operations were active during the past month, coinciding with the Euro 2024 tournaments. This period saw Macau police infiltrate a major cross-border syndicate involved with illegal gambling and other crimes, recovering about RMB 1bn and nabbing 50 suspects including leaders of said illegal operations; which led to the arrests of 42 additional suspects.
Another anti-crime operation also saw almost 300 apprehended for investigation with 7 officially charged.
Also coinciding with the Euro 2024, Thailand saw 3,863 arrests by anti-gambling taskforce during this period, with 200 illegal betting websites shut down and TBH2.4bn (US$7m) in circulation seized during the arrests.
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