China’s World Cup gambling crackdown is intensifying, with police arresting tens of citizens accused of operating clandestine soccer betting rings.
Earlier this month, courts and police units told the public they could face jail terms or fines if they gamble on World Cup games.
They warned of a rise in illegal sports betting sites in recent weeks. And a senior judge told the public to “watch matches with a frame of rational mind,” and “refrain from participating in online sports betting, or acting as a betting intermediary.”
These warnings appear to have gone unheeded. The Ministry of Public Security says it has arrested several people accused of running a “studio” that produced advertising materials for illegal sportsbooks.
World Cup Gambling Crackdown: Police Swoop on Betting Rings
Officers in Yulin, Guangxi Province, said two men, both surnamed Chen, and a woman surnamed Liu masterminded the studio, the Chinese state-owned media outlet CCTV reported.
The trio reportedly helped drive web traffic to undisclosed soccer-related gambling websites. They also helped perform maintenance and provided other technical support to the same gambling websites, police said.
The suspects are all aged 25 to 26, police said. Law enforcement chiefs said they also arrested several other Guangxi Province residents as part of their investigation.
Police said their probe into the studio was ongoing. The studio allegedly began its operations in May, producing what officers described as a “large quantity of gambling-related promotional advertisements.”
Studio operators reportedly created images, text, and videos, which they helped circulate on “multiple internet-based social media platforms.”
They were all designed to “induce web users to visit illegal websites and gamble,” an official explained.
Nationwide Crackdown
Police in other parts of the country are launching similar operations. The Xi’an Public Security Bureau said police carried out a raid on a suspected online sportsbook operator that offered odds on World Cup matches.
The bureau said a team of 20 police officials monitored the alleged site operators for 19 hours before launching a raid in the early hours of June 18.
Officers arrested seven people, all of whom have reportedly made full confessions.
Police said the website’s turnover was over 100,000 yuan, or almost $15,000. Officers said efforts to confiscate the group’s profits were underway.
The bureau issued a public statement, calling on Xi’an residents to enjoy the World Cup in a “civilized, rational, and law-abiding” manner. Illegal sports betting is also booming in Indonesia as the World Cup continues. Government officials in Jakarta say they have detected a “surge” in illegal sportsbook services.
