Gambler Sues Major Global Casino for $6.6 Million

  • Chinese national claims casino funds were transferred without his consent
  • Funds, totaling $6.6m, were sent to other casino patrons through 22 transfers
  • Marina Bay Sands claims it received signed letters from plaintiff authorizing payments
  • Case will be heard in Singapore High Court
lawsuit papers
A Chinese gambler is suing the Marina Bay Sands Casino for allegedly transferring $6.6m of his casino funds without his consent. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

Chinese gambler sues Marina Bay Sands

A Chinese national who previously gambled at the Marina Bay Sands Casino in Singapore is suing the company for $6.6m. The man claims his funds were transferred to other patrons of the casino without his consent. 

It was in July that the plaintiff, Wang Xi, discovered that these funds were missing. After doing some investigating, he found 22 transfers had been made out of his various deposit accounts at the casino between October 2015 and December 2015. 

funds were transferred to other patrons of the casino without his consent

Wang proceeded to file a lawsuit with the Singapore High Court. The individuals who received transfers from the plaintiff’s accounts are not known to him. 

Unauthorized fund transfers

Wang claims he was told by the Marina Bay Sands that the casino had received letters, supposedly signed by Wang himself, authorizing the transfers. The original copies of these letters were destroyed by an affiliate of the Marina Bay Sands for confidentiality reasons. 

failed to verify whether the Disputed Authorization Letters were in fact signed by the plaintiff”

The lawsuit claims that the casino company “failed to verify whether the Disputed Authorization Letters were in fact signed by the plaintiff before effecting the disputed transactions.”

The casino company has not yet issued a public comment on the matter. 

Casino presence in Singapore

The Marina Bay Sands, which is owned by the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, is one of only two companies with a casino license in Singapore. 

In 2019, the Singaporean government gave the casino company an extension on its license until 2030. The same was done for the island’s other operator, Genting Singapore Limited. In return for these license extensions, the two companies must invest up to $9bn in local projects, mainly for tourism.

Long-running legal disputes

The parent company, Las Vegas Sands, was recently at the center of a long-running court case. This saw the global casino brand settle a 15-year legal dispute with a Macau businessman for an alleged $96m in March. 

Las Vegas Sands is also facing a $12bn lawsuit in Macau. The case was filed by a former business partner of the casino group and his company, the Asian American Entertainment Corporation. The plaintiff is seeking compensation for lost earnings, as he claims Las Vegas Sands would not have gotten a license in Macau without his help. He is also suing for the unlawful termination of a contract Las Vegas Sands had with his own company.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *