10 arrested in Macau for alleged illegal gambling
The arrests were made in the NAPE district.
Macau.- The Judiciary Police (PJ) has arrested 10 people for alleged involvement in illegal gambling. Those arrested include the alleged operator, an employee and gamblers. Police said a raid was carried out after a tip-off. They seized two poker tables, chips and playing cards.
The alleged operator reportedly admitted renting the premises for MOP13,377 (US$1,673) per month last August, earning a commission of 5 per cent per game, and employing a 43-year-old former croupier at a daily rate of MOP500. The eight gamblers told the police that they learned about the venue through messaging apps.
New legislation on gambling crimes entered into force last October. It bans the operation, promotion, and organisation of online gambling and mutual betting irrespective of the physical location of associated systems and devices within Macau. It also increases penalties for illegal gambling to up to eight years and the maximum duration of pretrial detention to a year.
Macau sees rise in gaming-related crimes in 2024
The PJ has reported that gaming-related crimes rose by 28.6 per cent year-on-year to 1,423 in 2024. The number was 34 per cent lower than in 2019. The PJ noted there were 252 cases involving illegal gambling loans and some 47 cases of related unlawful detentions. Both figures were higher than those in 2023 but lower than in 2019.
The PJ also recorded 354 cases of telephone fraud, down 13 per cent year-on-year. However, online fraud cases increased by 4 per cent. However, the increase in 2024 was much smaller compared to the previous year, where the growth rate was 42.8 per cent. Authorities attributed the decline to anti-fraud campaigns carried out by the government to mitigate the growth of such crimes.
There were also 689 cases of phishing messages and fraudulent websites designed to steal credit card information, up 1.1 per cent in year-on-year terms. These scams caused over MOP14m (US$1.8m) in losses to both businesses and people, making them the largest-growing category of online crime in the region.
