Queensland Appeal Court Will Not Give Up on the $30 Million Whale Baccarat Case

By John Isaac,
Editor at online-gambling.com

John Isaac Editor at online-gambling.com

John Isaac is an editor with many years of experience in the gambling industry. He writes expert articles on card games like blackjack and poker. In addition, he is also well aware of the US gambling laws and the Indian and Dutch gambling markets. You can rely on verified information and insightful details.

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Last updated: January 8, 2022

The Star Gold Coast Casino in Queensland, Australia, has sued a Singaporean baccarat player associated with the online gambling industry for a gambling debt of $30 million. Billionaire Dr. Wong Yew Choy failed in his attempt to close the case in the Queensland Supreme Court. According to the complaint, Wong came to the Gold Coast site on private jets of the casino in July 2018.

Highroller received $30 million in chips; he used this enormous amount in three days. He received another $7.6 million from the casino. After sitting at the table for a week, according to Star, he walked out of the casino with exactly $32,887,019 in red. It includes bills of over $320,000.

Tokens issued as credits must have returned afterward, which is not uncommon for a gamer well known for his reputation as Wong. He pledged two blank checks as collateral and left the casino to fill in his details. But they recovered when the casino tried to get rid of them.

Singapore Courts Stood on the Side of Wong

The casino initially aimed to pursue the debt through courts in Singapore, but they favored Wong. It is because the city’s civil law does not help overseas firms in collecting foreign gambling debts.

In his request to dismiss the case before the Queensland Court of Appeals, Wong wanted the Singapore decision to go into effect and other lawsuits would constitute unjustified suppression of it and discredit it by the judiciary.

He was forced to face the same charge again in another lawsuit, and it was internal anger at Star’s behavior, Wong’s attorney noted. It is a lawsuit where Star casino files “tiered” lawsuits and uses those court procedures to “defend its bets.”

He also claims that he doesn’t need to get paid because traders keep making errors. But the appellate judges were not satisfied.

“Dr. Wong should not have considered that his dispute with Star was at an end once the Singapore proceeding was dismissed” – was written in their statement.

In April, the judge authorized the continuation of the prosecution, calling it a “relatively simple” claim for damages that must be settled on the grounds.

More about Wong – Former Director of SBOBET

Wong is an ex-director of Celton Manx, owner of SBOBET. It is the first Asian gambling organization to sponsor West Ham United. A Celton Manx representative informed that Wong retired in March 2019. The company later learned of his feud with Star casino.

Wong owns Zac Stable, which has grown countless winners and racehorses. In the words of his lawyers he is a reputed customer of casinos worldwide who frequently takes advantage of offers and discount packages. Little has known about Dr. Wong Yoo Choi and how he made his fortune that the casino wanted to lend him $10M.

Wong noted that in March 2019, he stepped down as director of Celton Manx. The firm is the first licensed company in the UK to run table games with live dealers online. SBOBET, another subsidiary of Wong, is a certified online bookie in the Philippines that accepts bets from Asia.

There are also baseless allegations linking Wong to Paul Phua, a Malaysian poker player and bookmaker believed to be a member of the 14K Hong Kong trio.