Major gambling ring shut down

The gang had once attracted more than 400,000 members to illegally bet on lottery tickets on the mainland and in Hong Kong, Yu said.

Additionally, police cooperating with counterparts from Thailand also detained seven suspected server technicians in that country.

All of the suspects who have been detained are Chinese residents, Yu added.

According to Lu Feng, online gambling events, with servers outside the mainland, have become a new trend in Guangdong province. Such events have posed a big threat to the province's social stability and economic construction, Lu said.

In December alone, gamblers lost more than 15.9 billion yuan to the gang after they bet online, and the gang used to attract an average of about 1 billion online bets a month, he said.

"Many suicide cases caused by the heavy online gambling debts and the demanding of debt payments via violent means have been reported in Guangdong in previous months," he added.

Lu urged local companies and server operators to refuse to participate in any online gambling events or provide their assistance to the online gambling gangs.

zhengcaixiong@chinadaily.com.cn