澳門賭場VIP貴賓廳和黑社會組織犯罪千絲萬縷的交錯

據研究資料顯示澳門博彩VIP貴賓室業務和黑社會有糾纏不清的聯繫。

最近有香港大學葡萄牙語系教授的一份研究資料表明，澳門博彩的貴賓廳中介業務很大程度上依賴於傳統的有組織犯罪三合會成員架構展開，這裡面有涉及到賭場的信用擔保、以及賭債的追逃，而在中國內地，賭債是不受法律保護的，沒有司法追訴權，只能依靠這些邊緣化的手段追債。也正是有這種有組織保障VIP貴賓室和維持的正常秩序，以及這些組織利用自身渠道涉足的金融地下通道收到賭博涉及的資金。

還有數據顯示，目前涉及到澳門博彩的地下錢莊正是中國金融管制上的盲區，數據顯示越來越多的中國富人正在通過澳門地下錢莊的方式向外轉移資金，這種雖然收費高達1.3%的手續費洗錢能迅速將內地富人的錢匯往指定國家併合法該國購買外匯依舊是生意火爆。

Study says Macau casinos judge junket operators on their links to triads

A new academic report claims that Macau’s casino junket operators retain strong ties to Hong Kong triads and that casino management relies on these links to determine a junket’s credibility.

Portuguese-language news agency Lusa recently reported on a new study by City University of Hong Kong professors, who suggested that junkets have evolved from their early renegade incarnations to a more corporate philosophy in which violence – whether to settle differences with rival operators or to collect debts from customers – is viewed as an absolute last resort.

The study, which was compiled over a period of three years from interviews with junket operators, triad members, casino staff and law enforcement officials, acknowledges that not all junkets are linked to triads but that such links are helpful to ensure gamblers recognize that their debts – which are legally unenforceable on the Chinese mainland – must be honored.

Casino management also reportedly takes a junket’s triad connections into account to ensure that a junket can maintain order at the VIP rooms under its control, although casinos are likely to shed ties to junkets that garner a reputation for violence rather than risk blowback from gaming regulators.

Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau responded to the study by telling Lusa it had yet to identify 「any triad being selected by casinos for work related to gaming rooms」 but promised that it would take the 「needed measures」 if any such links could be proven.

MACAU VIP ROOMS A LOUSY WAY TO GET MONEY OUT OF CHINA
 The Hong Kong study also claimed that Macau’s VIP rooms allowed Chinese syndicates to launder 『dirty』 money by engaging in simultaneous play at the same commission-free baccarat table.

The scam reportedly works like this: one player will bet a sum on the banker bet, while another player will wager the same amount on the player bet. Regardless of which bet pays off, the net result is a draw and the syndicate now has 『clean』 money.

However, a new report by Sanford C. Bernstein analysts suggests that Macau VIP rooms represent one of the least efficient ways for wealthy Chinese to evade their country’s capital controls. The brokerage examined 12 different ways of moving large sums of money off the mainland, and junkets were found to offer a 「prohibitively」 expensive process compared to other methods.

The Bernstein report noted that junket customers are traditionally expected to lose between 2.7-3.0% of their betting volume and that each dollar provided by junkets is expected to be rolled 5-7 times (often more), resulting in a net loss to the player over time of between 12% and 22% of the buy-in.

Bernstein noted that this premium was far higher than the price of dealing with China’s underground banks, which typically charge a commission of around 1.3% for a 『match-making』 service i.e. connecting a mainland individual hoping to convert a yuan deposit into foreign currency with another individual looking to convert foreign currency into yuan.