Two men arrested in Macau over remote baccarat betting

The suspects allegedly received betting instructions from customers in mainland China through Bluetooth earphones.

Macau.- Macau’s Judiciary Police have arrested two mainland Chinese men suspected of livestreaming baccarat games from a Cotai casino to facilitate remote betting by customers in mainland China. The suspects, identified as Zhang, 41, and Li, 44, were arrested on October 20 after police received a tip-off.

Investigators allege that Zhang placed bets at a baccarat table while Li filmed the game using a mobile phone. They reportedly wore Bluetooth earphones to receive betting instructions from customers in mainland China for approximately 30 minutes, beginning at around 2pm.

According to PJ spokesman Cheong Siu Keong, the customers provided the pair with HK$50,000 (US$6,375) in gambling capital. Police seized three smartphones, two Bluetooth earphones with receivers, HK$115,000 (US$14,662) in casino chips and RMB2,600 (US$389) in cash. Cheong said the investigation was ongoing as police examined the suspected proceeds and sought to establish the full extent of the alleged operation.

The two men were transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office on Thursday, October 22, to face charges of illegal operation of online gambling and online mutual betting. The case follows several other investigations in recent weeks. In September, police arrested two men in Cotai for allegedly using hidden recording equipment to livestream casino games.