Macau police recently cracked a casino fraud case involving an amount of $226,000 (about 1.76 million Hong Kong dollars), where a former baccarat dealer colluded with a gambler from mainland China. They illegally won a large amount of chips in just two weeks through "delayed betting".
According to the Macau Judiciary Police, the incident occurred from May 25, 2024, to June 7, 2024. The individuals involved are a 25-year-old former dealer from Macau and a 38-year-old man from mainland China, both unemployed. They conspired in the casino to manipulate the baccarat betting process to commit fraud.
"Banker wins by 6 points" used as a tool for arbitrage, high payout loophole repeatedly exploited
The police noted that the two chose to commit the crime when other gamblers left the table and it was empty. Taking advantage of his position, the dealer allowed his accomplice to place "bets after the outcome was known", especially targeting the special high payout outcome of "banker wins by 6 points"—which has a high payout of 22 times.
Through this method, each operation could profit from 110,000 to 330,000 Hong Kong dollars. Within just 14 days, they repeatedly manipulated the system, accumulating about 1.76 million Hong Kong dollars in chips illegally.
Casino system review detects anomalies, police act swiftly
It was not until June 25 that the casino, during routine monitoring, detected several suspicious transactions and immediately reported them to the police. The Macau police took action the next day and successfully arrested the two individuals. Investigations revealed that the former dealer had joined the casino in 2023 and resigned shortly after the incident for "personal reasons".
What is more lamentable is that after dividing the spoils, the two gambled all the illicit money back into the casino, and now have "nothing left".
Facing serious fraud charges, the case is still under investigation
The two suspects have been transferred to the prosecutor's office, facing charges of **"serious fraud". The case is still under further investigation. The police emphasize that this case highlights potential security vulnerabilities in casinos under high-intensity operations and reminds all entertainment venues to strengthen internal supervision and video analysis mechanisms** to prevent collusion between insiders and gamblers from happening again.
This case also serves as another warning to the industry: under the temptation of high payouts and profit-driven motives, once casino supervision is lax, losses can accumulate rapidly in a very short time, posing a significant threat to operational security.
