Alvin Chau, the founder of Suncity Group, has been jailed for 18 in years in Macau for illegal betting.

Chau faced a total of 290 charges, including those of running an illegal cross-border gambling syndicate. He was arrested in November of 2021. This was one of the local gaming industry’s biggest criminal cases in years.

Macau is the only part of China where casinos are legal. Junket operators like Suncity, also known as gaming promoters, were a core part of the gaming industry of Macau.

According to the prosecution, Chau and other co-defendants ran a syndiacate that cost the city’s government a loss of tax revenue of around 1 billion US dollars between 2013 and 2021.

Allegedly, they made illegal profits through side-betting activities.

While Chau’s lawyers argued that their client had not partaken in any side-betting activities, the court said these could not have taken place without his approval.

While Chau was acquitted of a money laundering charge, he and some co-defendants were ordered to pay the government some $830 million. They were also ordered to compensate several casino operators.

Last year, the Macau police also arrested the former boss of another leading junket business, Levo Chan, on similar charges.

Macau’s casino hub is looking towards a recovery as China eases its Covid-19 restrictions. Last year, gambling revenues went down around 50% to $5.3 billion.

The court case is seen by some as an end to the old junket system.

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