Macau police are joining forces with their counterparts across Asia to put a crimp in illegal betting during the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Among the measures is a cooperation agreement with law enforcement in mainland China and Hong Kong “to prevent and combat cross-boundary illegal bookmaking”.
The city also has established a task force under its Judiciary Police department and is working in conjunction with Interpol in nine other Asian countries and regions. The Interpol-led group has launched a crackdown on illegal betting called Operation Soga V. Macau, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Papua New Guinea are all members of the Interpol Asia-Pacific group.
Illegal betting usually surges across Asia during the World Cup. Joint police operations during the 2010 tournament resulted in 5,000 arrests, sizable asset seizures and raids on more than 800 illegal operations reportedly handling more than US$155 million in bets.
Police forces in Hong Kong and mainland China recently joined forces to shut down a cross-border gambling syndicate that took up to HK$500 million a day in illegal soccer bets, Hong Kong media reports. Twenty-nine people were arrested.
Hong Kong is home to an immense online gambling underground valued last year at upwards of HK$500 billion in turnover.
