Guangdong police shut down gambling operations

The Guangdong police detained more than 22,000 suspected gamblers in 1,709 cases in the province since the beginning of the year, according to Zhang Shaoxin, political commissar of the Social Security Bureau of the province's Department of Public Security.

Police across the province have also broken up 569 gambling gangs and destroyed a large number of online gambling platforms, payment platforms, secret banks and online service support companies, Zhang said at a news conference on Thursday.

Bank accounts worth more than 703 million yuan ($108 million) have been frozen for further investigation, while 42 million yuan in cash was seized on the spot in gaming venues.The police also seized a large number of gambling machines and various other tools, Zhang said.

Of the cases, 261 have been investigated and found to involve cross-border operations, Zhang said, adding that police officers have destroyed 17 online platforms, 26 support companies and 12 payment platforms related to cross-border gambling.