Police and ICAC bust illegal football betting syndicate

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) and the police jointly dismantled an illegal football betting syndicate, arresting 19 people, including coaches and players from the First Division football league, who are suspected of manipulating players to fix matches and profiting from the illegal betting.

The ICAC and police said this illegal betting syndicate has operated for two to three years, receiving over HK$6 million in bets.

Those arrested ranged in age from 22 to 58, involving four local football teams. Two were coaches, one for a First Division team and the other for a Hong Kong Premier League U22 team. Seven players were also arrested, six of whom came from three First Division teams.

The remaining individuals included gamblers, a housewife, and a driver.

On Tuesday, the ICAC and police raided a football club’s office in Mong Kok, as well as several residences, seizing HK$120,000 in suspected gambling proceeds, along with mobile phones and tablets containing records of illegal betting and transfers.

The investigation revealed that the syndicate instructed young players to fix matches in local football games, involving at least five matches over the past two seasons.

Some players were also involved in illegal betting, receiving bets on local and World Cup matches.

In one match, a player received hundreds of thousands of dollars in bets, some of which were used to bribe other players to deliberately lose the match, allowing the syndicate to profit.