Police in Kowloon, Hong Kong, say they have arrested eight people after a raid on an illegal fishing machine game gambling den.
Officers said seven of the arrestees were patrons. The other individual was the den’s operator, the Hong Kong branch of the Chinese media outlet On reported.
Fishing machine games are large console machines usually housed in video game arcades. Players use water cannons to shoot fish that swim across the screen. Most of the games award players points for each fish they shoot, with extra-rare fish “shots” accruing extra points.
They enjoy enormous popularity in Mainland China and Hong Kong. But in recent years, gambling den operators have begun offering patrons clandestine sessions in illegal makeshift arcades.
These operators typically pay cash prizes to high-point scoring players.
Hong Kong Police: Fishing Game Gambling Raid
Police in the Sham Shui Po District said they followed up on a report from a member of the public.
After launching an in-depth investigation, police raided a commercial unit on Cheung Sha Wan Road on the afternoon of April 9.
Officers said they confiscated five fishing game terminals, as well as gambling paraphernalia and an undisclosed amount of cash.
Police have identified the suspected gambling operators as a 54-year-old Hong Kong man surnamed Chan.
The group of suspected patrons included one man from Mainland China, five men from Hong Kong, and one woman from Hong Kong. The oldest of the arrestees was in his early 70s.
If found guilty, Chen faces a maximum HKD 5 million fine (around $640,000) and a seven-year jail term.
Courts could fine patrons up to HKD 50,000 ($6,400) and jail them for up to 9 months.
Earlier this year, police in Macao arrested a self-styled gambling guru on fraud charges. The man, who hails from a Mainland Chinese city, reportedly borrowed money from a female client. After losing the money in two Macao casinos, the man tried to flee and was arrested at a border point.
