The Judiciary Police (PJ) arrested two men from the Chinese mainland on Sunday for livestreaming gambling sessions in two local casinos to solicit online bets, PJ spokeswoman Leong Sok Man said during a special press conference yesterday.
Leong identified the duo, who committed the offences separately, as two unemployed men aged 39 and 37, surnamed Ma and Li respectively.
According to Leong, the Judiciary Police received two reports on Sunday at around 1:00 a.m. and 1:30 a.m. from two separate casinos – one in Cotai and the other in the peninsula’s central district.
Leong said that security guards at both casinos had informed PJ officers that they noticed Ma and Li displaying body language that differed from ordinary gamblers, noting they were frequently adjusting clothing in their chest areas. Following a period of surveillance, it was suspected that they were engaged in illegal activity commonly known as online or remote betting.
During the investigation, PJ officers discovered that Ma and Li were wearing specially modified clothing, featuring a small hole on the front of the garments that opened into an adapted inner pocket, Leong said. She added that a mobile phone had been secured inside the pocket to secretly film the gambling table, with the footage livestreamed via a messaging app.
Through wireless earphones, Ma and Li received betting instructions from clients in the mainland and placed bets accordingly.
On that day, Ma placed bets on 15 rounds using HK$8,000 (8,264 patacas) in capital, winning HK$1,350, according to Leong.
A total of HK$19,350 worth of casino vouchers was seized from Ma, Leong said, adding that he claimed he was only “testing” the livestream recording this time and had not received any payment.
However, Leong noted that PJ officers discovered a third party was present in the communication group, leading them to believe that accomplices were assisting in the illegal operation.
Li, meanwhile, had deleted all livestreaming records and refused to disclose the amount of payment he had received, Leong said. She added that on that day, he had won around HK$30,000 and was found to be carrying HK$78,000 in chips.
The duo were transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) yesterday, facing charges of operating illegal gambling and mutual betting online.
According to Article 7 of Macau’s Illegal Gambling Crime Law, the suspects face one to eight years behind bars.
Evidence displayed at the PJ headquarters in Zape yesterday shows two smartphones, casino vouchers and wireless earphones seized from Ma on Sunday.
Judiciary Police (PJ) officers escort the hooded suspect, surnamed Li, to a PJ van outside the PJ headquarters in Zape yesterday. – Photos: Armindo Neves
