Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) announced the arrest of 23 people, including a coach and 11 footballers, in connection with a match-fixing investigation.
The ICAC had received reports of suspected corruption involving individual players and spent nearly a year investigating before launching the operation.
The suspects, 22 men and one woman between the ages of 25 and 36, allegedly offered bribes to players to influence match outcomes, including losing or tying games, as part of a scheme to profit from illegal gambling. The group members contacted the coach and players before matches to provide instructions and offer bribes. Some players received thousands of dollars to lose games against weaker teams, while others placed bets on the outcomes of these matches to win large sums.
The investigation also revealed that a football team recently relegated from the Hong Kong Premier League was linked to the case. While the team’s name was not released, it was confirmed that they had been involved in 18 matches with suspicious outcomes during the First Division League. Players from first division side Happy Valley, and second division clubs Tung Sing and Fu Moon were interviewed by the ICAC on Monday.
Pui Kwan-kay, the Hong Kong Football Association chairman, emphasised the governing body’s zero-tolerance policy towards match-fixing and pledged to help authorities stamp out the problem in domestic football. Happy Valley finished 10th in the 14-team league this season, conceding 84 goals in the process. Kwai Tsui, who finished bottom, let in 106. Tung Sing and Fu Moon are presently 11th and 14th respectively in the ongoing 16-team second division.
The ICAC stressed that corruption of any kind, especially in sports, undermines the integrity of the game and is a serious criminal offense. The investigation is ongoing, and the suspects will face charges of bribery, illegal gambling, and other related offenses. The case is a reminder of the need for vigilance against match-fixing and the importance of maintaining the integrity of sports.
The ICAC said that it has arrested the 23 individuals, including 22 men and one woman, aged between 25 to 36 years old, following a year-long investigation into allegations of corrupt practices by individual players in a local soccer team. The team, which participated in the 2022-2023 Hong Kong Premier League, played 26 matches, of which 18 were either lost or ended in a draw, with some games suspected of being fixed.
The group members allegedly made contact with the team’s coaches and players before the matches and gave instructions to manipulate the game. Some players received thousands of dollars in bribes to manipulate games, with the highest reward reaching HK$9,000, and then played poorly to lose to weaker teams. They also participated in illegal gambling to win substantial amounts of money.
The ICAC found that some group members made exaggerated body language gestures outside the stadium to instruct players on how to manipulate the game, and then placed bets on underdogs with high odds to win huge payouts. The management of the soccer team is considered a victim in this case.
Hong Kong anti-corruption agency arrests 23 people including 11 footballers, coach as part of match-fixing probe
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Organized by Global Poker Index Asia and CTP Club, GPI Asia Poker Festival is set to make a triumphant return in Taipei City, Taiwan with ten days of games taking place at the Asia Poker Arena.
Now in its third installment, the annual event takes place from May 17 to 26, 2024. With poker in the country growing in leaps and bounds, larger returns have been promised highlighted by a guaranteed prize pool exceeding 5 Million New Taiwan Dollars (~USD 153,700). Raymond Wong from GPI Asia expressed.
GPI Asia Póker Festival
The Global Poker League kicks off the festivities. It is the most exciting Teams Event introduced in Asia featuring a NTD $300,000 (~USD $9,200) guarantee. Now in its seventh edition, the three-day event will see teams compete in various formats and in two variants – No Limit Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha. Buy in is NTD $20,000 (~USD $615) per team.
Each team is made up of four players – 1 captain and 3 players. In addition to the cash prize, the winning team will receive THM Championship Taiwan seats worth NTD $7,000 per member.
HSBC Global Research predicts that MGM China, Wynn Macau, Galaxy, and Sands China will pay dividends in 2024, while Melco and SJM are likely to withhold dividends.
In a recent report on HSBC Global Investment Summit 2024 key takeaways, the financial services agency said that Macau’s gaming demand remains healthy, while gaming operators “remain committed to shareholder returns”. Analysts Charlene Liu, Jessie Lu, and Lauren Cai maintain a ‘buy’ rating for MGM China and Galaxy, noting that both operators observed positive trends across all business segments, with notable upticks in VIP segment.
Macau gaming stocks remain intact, supported by a steady daily gross gaming revenue.
Earlier in March, MGM China announced a final dividend of HKD0.243 per share and a special dividend of HKD0.104 per share for 2023. Similarly, Wynn Macau declared a final dividend of HKD0.075 per share for the same fiscal year.
“With growing offerings of non-gaming events of a different nature, both[operators] expect to see travelers return more often to Macau and the seasonality trend to smoothen out,” the analysts said.
Thailand’s Ministry of Finance has been appointed lead agency to consider a House committee study recommending the legalization of casino gaming but will work with 16 other agencies in doing so, local media reports.
Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat, who chairs the House committee, said earlier that the complexes would create jobs, boost tourism, and curb illegal gambling. He expected the complexes to generate 40-50 billion baht of revenue annually. After the plan is greenlighted, a policy-level committee will be established to supervise the project, to be chaired by the Prime Minister, he said.
Thailand’s National Assembly to debate introducing casinos on March 28
An administration-level committee will then be formed, comprised of ministers and executives from related agencies to consider each aspect of the project in detail.
The 16 other agencies named include the ministries of Tourism and Sports, Social Development and Human Security, Higher Education Science Research and Innovation, Agriculture and Cooperatives, Transport, Interior, Justice, Labour, Culture, Education, Public Health and Industry.
The study itself recommends imposing a 17% tax on gross gaming revenue – making it one of the lowest tax regimes in the region – with locals to be required to pay an entry levy of an amount yet to be determined. License duration would be set at an initial 20 years and then renewable every five years, while the larger casino complexes would require a minimum investment of US$2.7 billion.
The Office of the Council of State, the National Economic and Social Development Council, the National Office of Buddhism and the Royal Thai Police will also be consulted.
In march, a total of 36.301 billion yuan of lottery tickets were sold nationwide, a year-on-year decrease of 5.509 billion yuan or 13.2%. Among them, the sales of welfare lottery institutions were 12.632 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 899 million yuan, a decrease of 6.6%; the sales of sports lottery institutions were 23.669 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 4.610 billion yuan, a decrease of 16.3%. This is mainly because the market was closed during the Spring Festival holiday in February this year.
Cumulatively from January to February, a total of 93.865 billion yuan in lottery tickets were sold nationwide, an increase of 18.832 billion yuan or 25.1% year-on-year.
Among them, the sales of welfare lottery institutions were 32.322 billion yuan, an increase of 7.950 billion yuan or 32.6% year-on-year; the sales of sports lottery institutions were 61.543 billion yuan, an increase of 10.882 billion yuan or 21.5% year-on-year.
Foreigner-only casino operator Grand Korea Leisure which operates three casinos in South Korea and Seoul and Busan under the Seven Luck brand reported a 19.9% month-on-month increase in casino revenue to KRW40.4 billion (US$29.9 million) in March, which was also 4.4% higher than the same month in 2023.
The strong result, comprising a 19.7% sequential increase in table revenue to KRW37.3 billion (US$27.6 million) and 22.7% increase in slots revenue to KRW3.06 billion (US$2.27 million), came off a 10.1% improvement in drop to KRW321.1 billion (US$237.5 million).
This brings casino sales for the first three months of 2024 combined to KRW93.7 billion (US$69.3 million), down 12.9% on the same period last year but on the rise after a slow start to the year.
Table drop of KRW916.0 billion (US$677.4 million) through March is up 21.5% higher year-on-year.
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