Hong Kong authorities have arrested 19 people, including active football players and coaches, following a joint operation targeting a syndicate suspected of running an illegal bookmaking network and bribing players to fix local football matches.

Operation Double-edged was carried out on June 23rd by the Independent Commission Against Corruption and the Hong Kong Police Force. The ICAC said the syndicate’s activities came to light during a separate corruption inquiry into match-fixing, with subsequent investigations identifying the core members of the network.

The ICAC arrested nine men aged between 22 and 49. The group included two coaches – one attached to a First Division club and another to a Hong Kong Premier League under-22 team, with one of the two also acting as a betting agent – and seven footballers, six of whom were active players at three First Division clubs. The seventh was a former player who had become a betting agent within the syndicate. One of the nine was also arrested by police.

Investigators said members of the group are suspected of breaching the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance by arranging payments to players to influence the results of domestic matches. The ICAC identified irregularities in at least four First Division matches across the 2024/25 and 2025/26 seasons, as well as one under-22 fixture during the current campaign.

Police from the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau separately arrested nine men and two women aged between 24 and 58 on suspicion of conspiracy to commit bookmaking and betting with a bookmaker. Five were identified as core syndicate members and six as gamblers, with several active football players among those detained. Searches of an office, residential premises, and a football club office in Mong Kok resulted in the seizure of HKD120,000 (USD15,400) in cash, along with betting slips, a laptop, and other electronic devices.

ICAC principal investigator Bill Ng Siu-kei said the syndicate exploited personal connections within the local football community to recruit both bettors and players willing to manipulate results. Police superintendent Chiew Tsi-huen of the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau said the mastermind created multiple accounts on illegal gambling platforms and distributed them to trusted associates, including footballers who managed funds and accepted wagers from contacts in the sport.

The syndicate is believed to have been operating for approximately two to three years and handled an estimated HK$6 million ($770,000) in illegal wagers covering local and overseas matches, including World Cup fixtures. Police said they believe the operation has dismantled the syndicate and disrupted its revenue stream, though investigations remain ongoing and further arrests have not been ruled out.

The ICAC said it continues to pursue sports integrity through enforcement, prevention, and education, and acknowledged assistance from the Football Association of Hong Kong, China in identifying suspicious activity in the matches under review.

Authorities reminded the public that illegal bookmaking carries a maximum penalty of HK$5 million ($642,000) and seven years’ imprisonment under the Gambling Ordinance, while placing bets with an unlicensed bookmaker is punishable by a fine of up to HK$50,000 ($6,400) and nine months in jail, regardless of whether the betting website is based outside Hong Kong.