MANILA, Philippines—Three foreign nationals have been arrested by authorities and charged in court for allegedly defrauding the casinos of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor), the agency’s spokesperson said Tuesday.
Pagcor assistant vice president for corporate communication Maricar Bautista said the three, whose names were withheld, were alleged members of a syndicate that included Chinese and Malaysian nationals.
The suspects, Bautista said, had been placed under surveillance for weeks after Pagcor had been tipped that the group was fleecing the casinos of millions of pesos by cheating in card games through the use of improvised devices.
Last May 8, the suspects were caught red-handed with the aid of CCTV cameras strategically located at Pagcor’s Airport Casino Filipino branch in Parañaque City while they were playing baccarat.
“Found concealed under the wrist of one suspect is an electronic device with a camera, with power supply, and a memory card containing recorded footage of card anomalies committed by the group,” Bautista said in a statement.
“The suspect admitted to cheating the casino through the use of said gadget. Apparently, the gadget has a small trigger which, when pushed, turns on the camera and records the sequence of cards every time the new set of cards is cut on the gaming table,” Bautista added.
Pagcor lost about P986,500 on that incident but it is still trying to determine the total losses from the modus operandi of the syndicate.
Bautista said criminal charges were immediately filed against the suspects before the Parañaque City Prosecutor’s Office. Rewards will be given to the tipster and the agency’s in-house security and surveillance team, which uncovered the modus operandi, she said.
Bautista said, “This serves as a warning to those who may be thinking of perpetrating the same crime. Pagcor is hell-bent on going after unscrupulous individuals who are engaging in illegal casino activities.”
By busting the syndicate’s operations, Bautista said state-run gaming was able to help other casinos solve the puzzle on how they can be swindled by cunning players.
“Pagcor will share information with other casinos on how we busted the group’s operations. We have to work together in going after the perpetrators of such crimes,” she said.
Bautista lamented that millions of pesos have been lost because of undetected activities being perpetrated by syndicates in casinos worldwide.