Shanghai police cracking down on virtual casinos
A gambling machine in a case solved by police in Changning District.
Seventeen suspects have been arrested for allegedly organizing gambling via online streaming, Shanghai police said today.
Some of the suspects, who were based overseas, allegedly livestreamed gambling on machines for people located on the Chinese mainland.
Police in Changning District said they started their investigation earlier this year with clues from a solved case.
The suspects allegedly recruited people via WeChat groups and advertisements, and gamblers laid their bets by paying through QR codes shared by the suspects.
By setting up cameras in front of gambling machines located overseas, the suspects enabled participants to watch their gambling via livestreaming.
The suspects operated more than 100 gambling machines, and took in over 1 million yuan (US$153,000) monthly from their casino.
Police apprehended some of the suspects from the Chinese mainland, and caught the rest in an overseas hotel.
Police said casinos have increasingly migrated to the Internet as a way to reduce costs, especially since the outbreak of COVID-19 which impedes international traveling.
Gambling is illegal on the Chinese mainland, and a nationwide campaign to crack down on gambling operated from overseas was undertaken earlier this year.
So far this year, Shanghai police said they've solved more than 700 gambling cases with over 2,800 suspects arrested and worth of 61 million yuan in cash or assets frozen in bank accounts.
A suspect confesses to operating an overseas casino.
Domestic agents
Gambling operators based overseas usually recruit domestic people to provide services, including recruitment, technical support and money transfers.
In one case solved by police in Fengxian District, 51 suspects were arrested on the Chinese mainland by operating a mobile app of an overseas gambling website.
The suspects allegedly provided online payment channels, SMS services and online customer services for the illegal business as well as bank cards and SIM cards.
The Wuhan-based company that developed the app was busted in September, and suspects from the company allegedly confessed that they had developed several apps since 2018 under the commission of overseas gambling operations.
In another case solved by police in Jinshan District, 10 suspects are pending trial for allegedly organizing people to gamble on foreign websites.
Operating from their administrators’ accounts, the Shanghai-based suspects provided gamblers with sub-accounts enabling them to gamble on those websites.
According to Chinese criminal law, people who organize gambling for profit face up to three years in prison, and those who run casinos face up to 10 years.
People who participate in gambling are usually fined or detained for up to 15 days.
