32 arrested for online football gambling

HANGZHOU - Thirty-two suspects were arrested for organizing online football gambling during the World Cup, police in East China's Zhejiang province said Tuesday.

More than 130 police officers raided 25 locations in cities in Zhejiang and neighboring Fujian province on July 14, confiscating a large number of mobile phones, computers, and account books, according to the police. Over 10 million yuan ($1.5 million) of money was involved.

Fifteen suspects were placed under criminal detention and another 17 under administrative detention.

According to the police, the group had been using overseas websites and mobile apps to solicit gamblers and making profits from commissions.

As of July 11, police have cracked down on more than 300 criminal cases of online football gambling with over 1 billion yuan of money involved since the opening of the 2018 World Cup on June 14, said the Ministry of Public Security. Previously, around 2,500 cases had been busted, with over 3 billion yuan confiscated or frozen.