Chan, who has been in custody since he was arrested in January last year, was also convicted on seven charges of fraud as the off-the-record gambling caused losses of revenue for casino owners and the Macau government.

His convictions also included one count each of illegal gambling operations, criminal association and aggravated money laundering.

Four other defendants were jailed for between seven and 11 years for their roles in the promotion and management of side betting operations, such as making multiple bank transfers to conceal the bigger turnover. Four others were acquitted.

The defendants were also ordered to pay the Macau government HK$575 million in unpaid tax revenue, as well as HK$134 million in commission losses to four casino operators.

They were given 20 days to lodge an appeal.

Leong Hon-man, who appeared for Chan, told a Macau newspaper outside the court that the defence would study the judgment and discuss it with their client, but did not say if an appeal would be made.

Chan had denied the charges and maintained that he had not been involved in the day-to-day running of Tak Chun’s VIP rooms.

Junket operators are go-betweens who bring high rollers on all-expenses-paid trips to casinos.

Tak Chun had a huge market share of VIP room operations before Macau’s high-profile prosecution of junket bosses.

The company’s junket operations catered to mostly mainland Chinese high rollers and was second only to Suncity Group, which was owned by disgraced Alvin Chau Cheok-wa.

“Junket king” Chau was jailed for 18 years in January for similar charges connected to unauthorised side betting operations in casino VIP rooms.

Recent controls on junket operations by Macau regulators have further squeezed the lucrative business.

Hong Kong-listed Macau Legend Development announced it was to end its junket operations in January.

Chan’s trial attracted attention from Taiwanese media as he is married to actress Ady An Yi-xuan, a major star from the self-ruled island, who is said to have avoided the media spotlight since he was arrested.