2 held in China as alleged agents luring gamblers to Macau

Jul 07, 2023 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck  

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Two men have been held by the public security police in Huangshi, Hubei province on the Chinese mainland, with each being accused of acting as an “agent” soliciting mainland residents to gamble in Macau, reported mainland media outlet Jimu News.

The suspects – respectively identified as “Zhang” and “Lyu” – were detained on June 29, according to the Thursday news report. They had previously made trips to Zhuhai, a Guangdong province city next door to Macau; and Shenzhen, a Guangdong city next door to Hong Kong.

Xingang district security bureau in Huangshi had a tip-off in October last year that several mainland residents had been solicited to gamble in “Hong Kong and Macau”, due to the accused allegedly acting as gaming “agents”, said Jimu News.

Citing investigation findings, the news outlet said Mr Zhang was a VIP gambling patron in a Macau casino. The venue was not named in the report. Mr Zhang was believed to have used “free meals and accommodation” available to him as an existing VIP gambling patron in Macau, as “bait” to lure other mainlanders to gamble in Macau, the report said.

Mr Zhang has reportedly admitted to police that he acted as a gaming agent. Mr Zhang and Mr Lyu were both accused of having committed the crime of “establishing casino”. Investigations are ongoing, the report said.

A number of government departments in mainland China have, in recent years, issued statements regarding crackdowns on citizens travelling overseas for casino play or having involvement in betting. China’s amended criminal code outlaws anyone assisting others in such activity. It came into effect from March 1, 2021.

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