ONLINE SPORTSBETTING BUSTS IN CHINA

26 October 2007

Police raid nets 20 gamblers and the operator of an Internet betting facility


China's Shanghai Daily reports that a residential address in the booming city has been raided for illegal Internet gambling, netting 20 punters and the woman operator.

The house where the action was taking place caught the eye of police patrols when they noticed a large number of people coming and going from the address, many of them talking animatedly about soccer and gambling.

A raid soon afterward found 20 men there taking part in online gambling, supervised by a middle-aged woman.

Yesterday prosecutors in Zhabei District ratified the arrest of the woman, He Cui, for organising online soccer gambling.

Prosecutors said she ran the online soccer gambling from her residence. Most of the gamblers were unemployed, attracted by curiosity or greed. The operator helped gamblers bet through an unidentified Website and collected money or paid out once a week. She earned a commission for her work.

She began the gambling scheme in February and in September community police started hearing whispers of the gambling action at her home. She allegedly earned 20 000 yuan (US$2 632) commission for eight months' work and the total gambled amounted to four million yuan. He Cui 'confessed' that she had 'lured' over a hundred gamblers to her address.

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