Alvin Chau denies involvement in online betting
Chau Cheok Wa has denied involvement in online betting but admitted that Suncity ran proxy betting services.
Macau.- In a new court session in his trial, Alvin Chau Cheok Wa has denied involvement in the online gaming business. He confirmed that Suncity operated proxy betting services, placing casino bets on behalf of customers who were not at the casino, but said Suncity stopped the service after authorities ordered a ban in 2016.
He told the court on Tuesday that after that Suncity only offered such services in overseas markets, such as the Philippines. The former CEO of Suncity Group added that the company stopped operating proxy betting services through the Philippines in 2019, transferring the operations to a man named Richard Ieong.
According to Chau, after the aforementioned transfer, the proxy betting business was named UE. However, two other defendants that were senior Suncity Group managers said the proxy business had still been receiving operational support from the Suncity Group junket business.
On the first day of his trial, Alvin Chau Cheok Wa had denied accusations that he ran under-the-table betting for high rollers for years. Prosecutor Lai U Hou had referred to conversations and text messages obtained by the police that allegedly showed Chau’s role in multiplier betting.
Under this practice, bets denominated at the casino gaming table would represent a private wager that would be a multiple of the “official” wager, thereby avoiding the 39 per cent tax rate on gross gaming revenue. Macau prosecutors alleged that Chau invited several people to set up an entity responsible for processing multiplier bets to increase working capital and spread risk.
Chau said: “What I was handling was regulating the grant of credit to players, and monitoring the risks. I took no part in the interests related to multiplier activities.”
The trial will continue on Wednesday (September 21).
