• By Hsu Li-chuan and Jason Pan / Staff reporters

Police on Wednesday raided a tabletop gaming shop in Kaohsiung that was allegedly operating as a gambling parlor for poker and baccarat.

Forty-seven people are facing charges, including the alleged proprietor, surnamed Chang (張), and 15 staff, police said.

Chang, 29, allegedly hired 15 women, mostly in their 20s, and had them wear short skirts to entice male patrons, police said.

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Kaohsiung prosecutors and police officers raided the store in Kaohsiung’s Sinsing District (新興), finding chips, items used for betting, ledgers and NT$976,000 in cash, Sinsing Police Precinct Deputy Chief Huang Chao-wei (黃昭偉) said.

Although Chang registered the site with the local government as a table gaming shop, it was a typical case of “using a permit to cover up illegal gambling,” Huang said.

Many premises say they have approval to play recreational table games such as mahjong and poker, but are actually “gambling parlors” involving illegal betting, he added.

Chang and the staff members face charges linked to running an illegal gambling operation and other charges under the Criminal Code, while the patrons allegedly contravened the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法), Huang said.