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Authorities crackdown on 600 online soccer betting groups

Updated: 2010-07-09 11:19

 

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Police have broken up 600 online soccer gambling groups and arrested more than 810 gamblers since the World Cup began on June 11, the Ministry of Public Security said on Thursday.

Among those arrested, 65 were from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, as well as from countries like the Philippines and Malaysia, the ministry said in a briefing.

Authorities seized gambling funds worth about 50 million yuan ($7.3 million) in the crackdown, the ministry said.

Before the opening of the World Cup, which is under way in South Africa, police had already detained 3,600 people during a nationwide crackdown on online gambling that began in January, ministry figures showed.

In a separate case, Hong Kong and mainland police reportedly cracked a large cross-border illegal soccer gambling syndicate, seizing betting slips worth more than $1 billion.

Officers arrested 93 people from Hong Kong and the mainland in a joint operation late on Wednesday, Hong Kong-based broadcaster RTHK reported.

Police said the syndicate mainly received online and telephone bets through more than 400 bank accounts, the largest number of accounts involved in a local illegal soccer betting case, Cable TV Hong Kong reported.

The Ministry of Public Security said in a release last month that China is still facing a "very grim" situation in controlling online gambling activities.

"The root of online gambling hasn't yet been eradicated and some money flows still run unchecked," the message read.

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（中國日報(bào)網(wǎng)英語點(diǎn)津 Helen 編輯）

About the broadcaster:

Renee Haines is an editor and broadcaster at China Daily. Renee has more than 15 years of experience as a newspaper editor, radio station anchor and news director, news-wire service reporter and bureau chief, magazine writer, book editor and website consultant. She came to China from the United States.