Online gambling promoters busted

Police in the Zhejiang province of East China have arrested 36 individuals for allegedly being involved in promoting an online gambling platform.

The suspects are believed to have used social networking app WeChat to help gamblers wager 542 million yuan ($75.8m).

used social networking app WeChat to help gamblers wager 542 million yuan ($75.8m)

The promoters busted operations occurred as online gambling rings are being shut down by Chinese police. Officials want to put a stop to cross-border online gambling activity.

A tip-off led to police launching an investigation. This resulted in the arrest of a local resident with the surname of Zhou. The suspect worked for an online gambling platform set up by a gang.

The bust

Police arrested Zhou in January. Police discovered the gang behind the platform had a surname of Wu. The platform had around 810,000 members. The investigation found 150,000 agents have promoted the online gambling website.

In May, police began raiding the Chongqing Municipality and the cities of Chengdu and Shenzhen. As a result, police arrested Wu and his gang. The investigation continues in this case.

The arrests took place as Chinese state media continue to criticize online and telephone gambling.

China and the Philippines clash

Recently, the Chinese government requested that the Philippines ban all online gambling activity to lower the number of illegal offshore gambling conducted by Chinese citizens. According to VSO News, the Philippines will not be complying with this request from Beijing.

no intention of banning offshore online gambling operations

The Philippines Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) has stated that the country has no intention of banning offshore online gambling operations. This was also confirmed by Victor Padilla, the head of PAGCOR offshore gambling. Claims have been refuted by the organization that the operators are targeting Chinese gamblers.

China hoped that the ban would be considered by the Philippines in a bid to stop cross-border gambling. Authorities in Beijing believe that criminals are using gambling as an opportunity to embezzle funds and illegally recruit workers.