Eight Arrested in Macau Casino Card-Tampering Fraud Scheme

According to Teledifusão de Macau, a public broadcasting service provider in Macau, eight residents of the city have been detained on suspicion of conspiring to defraud a casino by tampering with poker cards to rig game outcomes.

Macau Card Tempering Ring Busted

According to police, the card manipulation enabled accomplices posing as gamblers to anticipate the sequence of dealt cards, allowing them to place winning bets. The syndicate allegedly executed the scheme twice – once in late March and again in early May this year. Investigators estimate that each involved employee received illicit payments ranging from HKD 170,000 to HKD 500,000 (approximately $21,600 to $63,700). During the investigation, officers seized HKD 2.94 million in cash (around $370,000).

Judiciary Police spokesperson Lei Chi Hou stated that five of the arrested individuals were casino staff, including table managers, supervisors, and dealers, who are believed to have been recruited by a criminal syndicate. The other three suspects are alleged to be key members responsible for orchestrating the scheme. The alleged scheme caused the casino to suffer an estimated loss of HKD 4.54 million (approximately USD 580,000).

The eight suspects have been handed over to the Public Prosecutions Office and now face charges of involvement in a criminal organization and large-scale fraud. Police are currently searching for additional suspects who remain at large. Authorities emphasized the need for casinos to stay alert to insider collusion and advanced cheating tactics. Police further cautioned that such schemes inflict serious financial and reputational damage on the gaming industry.

A Very Similar Case Happened Before

Interestingly, this case parallels another one from last summer, which also saw another group of eight individuals, many of whom were casino staff, who tampered with cards in order to defraud casinos. The eight suspects, aged between 33 and 42, were arrested for allegedly defrauding casinos in Cotai of approximately $120,000.

According to the Judiciary Police, five of the suspects have been identified as casino employees – table managers, directors, and dealers. They were allegedly recruited by the syndicate to manipulate casino cards during their shifts to facilitate the fraud. The remaining three were believed to be core members of the group responsible for planning and coordinating the scams.