Police in Shanghai report results of online gambling clampdown
Police have arrested more than 800 people this year for involvement in illegal gambling syndicates.
China.- Shanghai police have reported making more than 800 arrests related to illegal gambling syndicates so far this year. The syndicates brought people together to gamble online via offshore operators.
The police said they have seized or frozen assets worth more than CNY170m (US$23.53m) from 80 gambling platforms, 47 gambling promotion platforms and 27 money-laundering operators. Police in Minhang claim to have dismantled a group comprising more than 40 people that used accounts on foreign gambling sites to offer gambling services.
The gambling hub ran a computer room to manage accounts and cash flow for overseas websites. Police spent four months investigating how it operated in various provinces after receiving reports from the public in March.
In another case, police in Baoshan District detained 150 suspects for operating an online casino and offering live gambling services. The grooup used cameras in overseas casinos to synchronise gambling in real time.
In August, Wang Wenbin, a spokesman from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, advised that anyone involved in gambling to surrender or face severe punishment.
He said: “No matter what corner of the world a criminal suspect runs to, China will initiate law enforcement cooperation with relevant countries and bring the suspect to justice.”
The Chinese government has wagered a crackdown on cross-border gambling activities. In 2020, it established a blacklist of destinations to which cross-border transfers are controlled. The blacklist is compiled by multiple departments, including the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security. In March 2021, China’s revised Criminal Law made it illegal to assist in cross-border gambling.
