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 announced that the defendants are accused of criminal association and illegal gambling by earning commissions from football and basketball betting websites hosted abroad.
Authorities revealed that these operations have generated over MOP1.08 billion since 2016. During a joint operation, nearly MOP8.6 million in cash was seized.
Of the 59 suspects, 2 are currently in pre-trial detention while the others have been released on bail. However, all suspects are prohibited from leaving Macau, facing charges that could result in up to 3 years of imprisonment.
Anti-crime operations in Macau were underway throughout the previous month, timed to coincide with the Euro 2024 competitions. During this time, Macau police broke into a significant transnational organisation that was engaged in illicit gambling and other crimes. They recovered approximately RMB 1 billion and apprehended 50 people, including the heads of these criminal operations. This led to the arrest of 42 more 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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