Thirteen inspection teams have been dispatched across the mainland to inspect the progress of the government's crackdown on illegal gambling.
The teams include representatives of the State Council's general and legislative affairs offices, the Supreme People's Court, Supreme People's Procuratorate, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Education, according to a China News Service report yesterday.
They have been sent to Liaoning and Guangxi, which border countries with casinos; as well as Anhui , Fujian and Chongqing .
Police in Changchun, the capital of Jilin province, have investigated 173 gambling cases since January 12 and cracked nine gambling cells, according to state media reports. Police raids snared 699 people, with 39 detained for further investigation and 496 fined.
State media also devoted coverage to an earlier operation by police in Fujian yesterday, which saw the arrest of 33 people, including more than 10 government officials, in connection with two online betting syndicates.
The two Taiwanese-registered online gambling syndicates, one of which achieved a monthly turnover of 13.6 billion yuan, posted fixture lists of overseas soccer matches and the relevant odds on their websites, according to the People's Daily.
