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Frank Tang

Beijing police have broken up an illegal World Cup betting syndicate worth 320 million yuan (US$48 million) and apprehended 46 suspects, state media reported on Saturday.
Police in the Chinese capital said 200 officers had been involved in the crackdown, which formed part of the nationwide Operation Chain Break targeting sports betting.
Gambling is strictly prohibited in mainland China apart from the government-run sports lottery.

Fourteen of the suspects have been placed in criminal detention and 21 in administrative custody. The other suspects, who were held on Friday, were still under investigation.
Police believe that six masterminds had been operating as middlemen for foreign gambling websites to recruit agents and customers.
Chinese soccer fan’s World Cup winning bet turns sour after someone else claims her prize
The ring is thought to have used popular messaging sites such as WeChat to advertise the odds available for each day’s matches.
The value of the transactions linked to the ring had reached 320 million yuan, according to police.
China’s ‘psychic’ ginger cat dies after World Cup winning streak
China has the world’s largest population of soccer fans, although its national team has only appeared in the World Cup once.
The tournament, which concludes next Sunday, has seen tens of thousands of Chinese fans travelling to Russia to watch games.
Foreign gambling sites have been known to target Chinese fans in the past and are thought to have been trying to cash in on the World Cup.

Chinese language adverts for gambling sites often appear online and sometimes during live broadcasts of European soccer matches.
There have been a string of arrests linked to online betting since the start of the World Cup. Last week police in the southern city of Shenzhen arrested nine people, while another 11 were detained in the eastern province of Zhejiang.
World Cup gambling suicide fears lead Chinese housing estate to barricade the rooftops
In recent posting on social media, Beijing police warned fans of the dangers of trying to overseas gambling sites, claiming 95 per cent of them were actually phishing sites.
They also reminded people that it is illegal to bet online and the authorities would continue pushing to eradicate gambling.


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Crime in China

Beijing police break up US$48 million Fifa World Cup betting ring

China’s vast number of fans are frequently targeted by overseas betting sites. Photo: Reuters

epa06858732 Supporters of China pose prior to the FIFA World Cup 2018 round of 16 soccer match between Belgium and Japan in Rostov-On-Don, Russia, 02 July 2018. (RESTRICTIONS APPLY: Editorial Use Only, not used in association with any commercial entity - Images must not be used in any form of alert service or push service of any kind including via mobile alert services, downloads to mobile devices or MMS messaging - Images must appear as still images and must not emulate match action video footage - No alteration is made to, and no text or image is superimposed over, any published image which: (a) intentionally obscures or removes a sponsor identification image; or (b) adds or overlays the commercial identification of any third party which is not officially associated with the FIFA World Cup) EPA-EFE/KHALED ELFIQI EDITORIAL USE ONLY

This photo taken on July 2, 2018 shows people buying lottery tickets at a China Sports Lottery outlet in Shanghai. China may not have a team in this year's World Cup in Russia but this has not dampened the enthusiasm of the country's gamblers, with proceeds in the first three weeks already outstripping the whole of the 2014 tournament in Brazil. / AFP PHOTO / - / China OUT / TO GO WITH Fbl-WC-2018-China-gambling,FOCUS by Albee Zhang

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Forty six suspects held as police in Chinese capital continue crackdown on illicit online gambling


Fifa World Cup 2018

Beijing police break up US$48 million Fifa World Cup betting ring

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Forty six suspects held as police in Chinese capital continue crackdown on illicit online gambling

Forty six suspects held as police in Chinese capital continue crackdown on illicit online gambling