Macau busts casino loansharks, WeChat baccarat operators

Macau authorities have broken up yet another illegal gambling operation livestreaming its activity via the WeChat social media platform.

On Monday, Macau’s Judiciary Police (PJ) announced the arrest of seven men – six from Macau, one from Hong Kong – after receiving a tip that an illegal online baccarat operation was being run out of a local apartment building.

The PJ later stated that the seven men had been recruited by a mainland China criminal syndicate and that the operation had been taking illegal online wagers for four months before the whip came down. The PJ has charged the seven with illegal gambling and belonging to a criminal organization, while continuing to pursue the operation’s ringleader.

Macau has disrupted an increasing number of illegal WeChat-based operations this year, including the June bust of a group streaming baccarat action from an unidentified Cotai casino VIP room.