The official indictment in the case against Alvin Chau Cheok Wa and 20 other defendants alleges that the criminal group he headed, together with former middle and senior management of the now-shuttered Suncity junket operator, caused HK$8.2 billion (US$1 billion) in lost gaming tax revenue to the Macau SAR1. The first court session of the trial has been scheduled for September 21.
Chau was detained by Macau police in November 2021 following an arrest warrant issued by authorities in Mainland China's Wenzhou city over alleged cross-border gambling activities1. One month later Suncity closed all of its VIP gaming rooms in Macau and then officially announced the complete cessation of its business1. TDM Radio Macau reported on June 21 that Chau stands accused of leading a syndicate that managed more than HK$823.7 billion in illegal betting volume, with about HK$21.5 billion of profit1.
The indictment alleges the group ran complex illicit side-betting operations in VIP rooms in properties managed by all six gaming concessionaires and subconcessionaires in Macau since at least 2013, and organized illegal online and proxy betting that let Suncity VIP Room account holders place bets in Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines1. Almost HK$3.6 billion in illicit phone and online betting was said to have been laundered via transfers from front companies and underground banks in mainland China that were then mixed into Suncity revenue accounts, while about HK$616.9 million and RMB17 million from side-betting proceeds were allegedly laundered through asset management, investment projects and commercial financing1.
According to DICJ calculations cited in the indictment, the syndicate's acts caused Macau SAR gaming tax revenue losses in the first year of the new side-betting scheme in 20131. Between 2013 and the end of the group's operations in 2021, the highest annual loss was reported in 2014, when HKD$2.8 billion in gaming tax revenue was said to have been lost1.
The prosecution documents argue that at least since December 2013, Chau and his illegal gambling group reached an agreement with defendants Lou Seak Fong, Leong Su Weng, Ali Celestino, Wong Pak Ling Philip, Cheong Chi Kin and Chau Chun Hee to carry out "double-sided betting" side betting activities in Macau casinos1. The indictment describes the practice, known as Tok Dai, with an example called "one drags two":
"When the customer wants to bet 10k on the gaming table, he simultaneously bets 20k under the gaming table with the illegal gaming group […] If the customer wins, the casino will pay him 10k and the illegal gaming group will also pay him 20k. However, if the customer loses 10,000 of the bet, he has to pay the casino 10,000 and at the same time pay 20,000 to the illegal gaming group"
The indictment also alleges the group presented false financial statements to the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Directorate (DICJ), including modifying computer programs, to avoid inspection and oversight1. Suncity Group Holdings Ltd is described as a listed Hong Kong company separate from the Suncity junket operations, with Chau having already divested his shares in the group1.
What it means for players
The case concerns junket-run VIP room betting in Macau, the segment where high-stakes players are introduced by agents rather than betting directly with a casino. The alleged conduct at issue is side betting, where a wager is placed with an outside group in addition to the bet on the table, and proxy or phone betting that lets account holders wager on tables in other jurisdictions. Players who held Suncity VIP Room accounts, or accounts on platforms named in the indictment such as SCM, SCDN, SCPP and Easy Bett, are named in the prosecution's account of how funds and bets moved1. The indictment does not state what happens to balances or records held by those account holders, and no such outcome has been reported.
The alleged tax loss is a claim by prosecutors, not a finding. The defendants have not been convicted, and the trial has not begun. Gambling rules differ across the region, and the indictment describes activity that prosecutors say crossed borders into the Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia as well as mainland China1. For a general overview of what is legal where, see our guide to gambling laws in Asia.
What happens next
The first court session involving Chau and 20 other defendants is scheduled for September 21. Macau News Agency said a separate article will describe in more detail the specific roles and functions of the remaining defendants1. No other next steps have been reported.
