Society

Beijing police raid two online gambling rings

By Yan Weijue (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-06-08 16:26

Beijing police cracked two gambling rings, which bet on soccer games through overseas betting websites, nabbing 30 suspects, with total stakes of up to several hundred million yuan, the Chinanews.com.cn reported Tuesday.

The first gambling ring, headed by a man surnamed Gao, was started in February 2009, with Gao being the shareholder and some overseas Internet betting websites being the platform.

The criminal ring developed as it opened illegal casinos on the Internet and attracted more and more people to invest, keeping shares of the take. After a thorough 40-day investigation, the police raided different districts of the city, seizing 20 suspects, confiscating over 20 computers, seven cars, more than 100,000 yuan ($14640) as well as more than HK$20,000 in illicit money.

The other gambling ring was also caught in the police's coordinated raids, with 10 suspects caught and 10 computers and more than 10 bank cards confiscated.

According to authorities, Beijing police have cracked over 100 similar cases involving illegal soccer gambling on the Internet, catching over 300 suspects so far this year.