Macau police arrest two mainland men over livestreamed Cotai baccarat betting

Macau's Judiciary Police arrested two men from the Chinese mainland for livestreaming a baccarat game at a Cotai casino to mainland gamblers who directed bets remotely, according to a police account presented at a press conference. Both men have been sent to the office of public prosecutions, and the investigation into their alleged illegal gains is ongoing.

Cheong Siu Keong, a spokesman for the Judiciary Police, identified the two detained men as farmers. One is named Zhang and the other Li; their ages are 41 and 44 in that order. While at the baccarat table, Zhang did the betting, and Li held a mobile phone behind him to stream the table. Cheong said that instructions on how to bet reached both of them at the same time via Bluetooth earphones, sent by gamblers located on the Chinese mainland. The session, he added, went on for roughly half an hour.

The gambling funds, Cheong said, came from the mainland customers, who gave the two men HK$50,000, a sum equal to 51,533 patacas. From the suspects, officers took 3 smartphones and 2 Bluetooth earphones fitted with receivers. The police also found HK$115,000 in casino chips and 2,600 yuan in cash, the latter amounting to 3,146 patacas. Everything seized was impounded.

Cheong said the tip about suspected remote betting at a Cotai casino reached the Judiciary Police at about 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, and officers were dispatched there. According to the police account, the two men had turned up at the venue earlier, at roughly 2:00 p.m., entering to gamble with earphones on. Zhang and Li were then intercepted by officers at the casino.

The same day the press conference was held, Zhang and Li were handed over to the Public Prosecutions Office. The charges they face are illegal operation of online gambling and online mutual betting.