Testimonies confirm Tak Chun involved in side betting

Levo Chan, ex-boss of Tak Chun

As court sessions for illegal gambling allegations against Tak Chun Group unveiled yesterday morning, testimonies pointed to the group’s operations of side betting.

The original boss of the now defunct company, Levo Chan, was the only one of the nine defendants who was present at the inaugural court hearing. He is also the only defendant being held in custody. Despite the situation, the presiding judge, Justice Lam Peng Fai, allowed the progression of the session.

Chan was reported to have remained silent throughout the session, except for occasionally answering some questions related to his personal situation.

Asking about personal particulars is a regular practice at the commencement of local court hearings.

Chan was reported to have made MOP300,000 of income each month before his arrest. He needed to support six family members, namely his father, his spouse and four children.

As revealed during yesterday’s session, Chan was accused of running side betting in his company’s VIP casinos. These casinos were located within properties of the six gambling concessionaires.

He reportedly tempted gamblers to conduct side betting with higher payouts or commissions. Betting in the absence of the gamblers, also referred to as proxy betting, was also said to be conducted at Tak Chun VIP casinos.

It was said that between April 2014 and June 2020, a total rolling chip turnover reaching the value of MOP34.9 billion was generated. It has subsequently led to illegal income of MOP1.5 billion and equivalent to MOP570 million or more of tax lost from the government’s financial perspective.

Chan was also accused of operating electronic or phone betting, as well as money laundering, among other charges that were brought against him.

The trial rolled out on the prosecution’s side, with the court hearing a witness’s testimony and reading the written testimonies of seven other witnesses. The absent witnesses were said to be former clients or customers of the former company.

The witness who was present yesterday worked as a floor manager at a VIP casino operated by Tak Chun. She testified that she knew from her first day working at the company about Tak Chun’s operation of side betting.

She also said that records were taken when a side bet was placed and special symbols were used for various indications.

Justice Lam read out the testimonies from the absent witnesses. Some of these witnesses admitted to conducting side betting or phone betting at Tak Chun’s casinos. Pay-outs were credited into their accounts with the casinos. It was said that problems would be solved immediately, and Chan was notified each time a side bet session was opened.

According to some media outlets, a small debate started at yesterday’s hearing on the eligibility of certain new exhibits added shortly before yesterday’s session.

Prosecutor-coordinator Lai U Hou argued that the exhibits were extracted from computer systems seized from Tak Chun. Justice Lam, meanwhile, expected yesterday’s session would not involve the concerned exhibits and cited time constraints to justify his decision to move on with the session.