Police on the South Korean island of Jeju have charged one male and one female casino dealer over an alleged fraud against several Chinese-mainland gamblers, said to have resulted in KRW100-million (US$67,684) losses for the latter. The crime was allegedly via a card-marking scam on blackjack games.
The fraud is said to have happened in June at Gold Mountain Casino, a foreigner-only gaming venue at the Jeju Shilla Hotel on the holiday island. The initial loss to the players had been put at KRW80 million.
The charging of two suspects was announced by local police on Monday. Their ages were not disclosed. Local media said the two were released pending further investigation, and have not been indicted.
According to June reports in local news outlets, the authorities suspected one or more dealer at the property had used marked cards that could only be identified by a person using special contact lenses or glasses.
How such a setup allegedly assisted the fraud, was not explained in the reports.
Per local media at the time, the alleged victims were three Chinese nationals who had earlier won a significant sum while gambling, before dealers supposedly used marked cards to reverse the losses, winning money back in-house.
The Chinese trio reportedly left South Korea without realising they might have been victims of a fraud.
Any finding of culpability against the accused could also lead to administrative sanctions against the casino itself, encompassing a three-month suspension of operation, according to a Jeju government official contacted by GGRAsia.
