Macau’s Judiciary Police have detained two mainland Chinese men suspected of helping a bettor outside the city place proxy bets by livestreaming an electronic baccarat game from a Cotai casino.
According to a local media report citing police, the two entered the casino at around 11 p.m. on September 19th. One allegedly received instructions from the bettor through a Bluetooth earpiece and placed bets using RMB18,000 ($2,530) transferred in advance, while the other divided the chips and kept watch.
Police said the bettor had also offered a RMB300 ($42) fee. Officers detained the pair at around 1 a.m. after receiving a tip-off.
Authorities seized HK$6,000 in cash and HK$19,250 in cash vouchers, worth a combined $3,240, as well as two mobile phones, a casino membership card and a Bluetooth earpiece. Police believe the principal suspect had engaged in similar activity since June and earned HK$2,600 ($333).
The two were referred to prosecutors for illegally operating online games of chance.
In a separate case, police detained a 19-year-old mainland Chinese man in connection with an alleged money exchange scam that cost a gambler HK$437,000 ($56,000).
The victim allegedly handed two men HK$150,000 for an exchange into renminbi outside a Cotai hotel, before being persuaded to provide a further HK$287,000. The two left without delivering the agreed funds, according to police.
One suspect was intercepted later that day while attempting to leave Macau through the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge border checkpoint. A second suspect remains at large, while police are continuing to trace the missing funds.
