Gambling king’s arrest raises stakes for elite

For more than a decade, Alvin Chau has rarely been out of the headlines in China. Known as the Junket King for his skill in luring high rollers to casinos, his black book was crammed with Beijing’s ultra-rich elite.

Today, however, Chau, 47, is behind bars as the most highprofile target of President Xi Jinping’s crackdown on the gambling haven of Macau.

The chief executive of Suncity Group has been arrested over allegations that he ran online gambling platforms accessible from mainland China, where all betting is banned except for the state lottery.

Chau, who is said to be worth at least NZ$3.9 billion, has apparently confessed to the charges. Analysts suggest that his detention is a significant escalation in Xi’s crusade against semiautonomous Macau.

Xi is taking an increasingly dim view of the former Portuguese colony, known for its sex trade, organised crime and lavish spending.

Beijing estimates that more than NZ$294b flows out of China via cross-border gambling each year, much of it handled by Suncity. Opaque financing and the power of Macau’s Triad gangs allow it to serve as a base for money laundering by China’s elite. Beijing has categorised the huge flows of cash as a ‘‘national security risk’’.