Police in China smash hi-tech WeChat gambling rings that use counting robots

WeChat has become a ubiquitous feature of everyday life in China with 1 billion users

Celia Chenin Shenzhen
A croupier shuffling cards on a black jack table. Photo: AFP

Police in China recently smashed another gambling ring that punted on virtual red packets on Tencent Holdings’ WeChat social media platform.

Since last year, Shenzhen authorities have arrested 71 people for gambling activities on Tencent’s WeChat and QQ platforms, with the largest sum involved at more than 60 million yuan, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. Similar cases were also reported in Jiangsu, Hunan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan and Zhejiang provinces. Tencent declined to comment on the report.

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