Chinese gamblers are heading to remote countryside areas to escape police scrutiny, but detectives are continuing their pursuit, shutting down scores of outdoor betting rings nationwide.
In their latest raid, officers from the Banqiao Police Station and the Luoping County Public Security Bureau arrested over a dozen people found placing bets in a remote evergreen forest area, the Chinese media outlet ZJW reported.
Police released pre-arrest photos of the group, showing several people sitting on light plastic stools around a collapsible wooden table, apparently laden with gambling paraphernalia.
Officers said they raided the group on April 22, after monitoring its activities from afar on several prior occasions.
Chinese Gamblers Head to Hills & Fields to Evade Police
Detectives explained that the group carefully planned their activities to “evade police crackdowns and avoid CCTV surveillance and street patrols.”
Instead, this suspected gambling ring “specifically chose remote, mountainous areas as their makeshift gambling dens,” officers said.
The group’s members reportedly took it in turn to act as lookouts, aware that police are now actively hunting gambling rings that congregate in rural areas and abandoned buildings.
Banqiao Police Station officers said they identified the group’s members, meeting habits, and gathering places before their operation.
During the raid, police seized over 30,000 yuan ($4,400) worth of cash and assorted gambling paraphernalia.
The station has issued administrative penalties to eight of the arrestees. Police placed several others under administrative detention ahead of a court hearing.
Banqiao Police Station said it would seek to punish gambling offenders “without leniency.”
The station said it will also increase police patrols in remote areas as part of a bid to “maintain peace and stability in the area.”
All forms of gambling are illegal in China, with the exception of the state-run welfare and sports lotteries.
These lotteries are legally classified as a form of fundraising, as they contribute to government welfare and sporting programs.
Tech Startup Website Falls Prey to Online Casino Promoters
Meanwhile, in the city of Putian, in Fujian Province, police responded to a tip-off from internet users who discovered a tech startup’s website had been taken over by online casino promoters.
The startup had recently changed its name and migrated its operations to a new site, the city’s Municipal Public Security Bureau cybersecurity department wrote in an official release.
However, the unnamed firm, identified only as a Changsha-based technology company, had “failed to promptly cancel the website registration for its former domain name.”
Opportunistic criminals reportedly took advantage, buying the domain name registration and using it to promote an illegal online casino platform.
The police department said the site has since been shut down.
Officers also summoned the firm’s executives to explain what had happened and instruct the company on the steps it should take to prevent a recurrence.
Late last month, Chinese police repatriated a man suspected of masterminding a cross-border sports betting ring.
Police in Thailand arrested the man, surnamed Huang, after he fled to the country from Cambodia. Prosecutors have accused him of overseeing an illegal gambling empire worth around $73 million.
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Chinese gamblers are heading to remote countryside areas to escape police scrutiny, but detectives are continuing their pursuit, shutting down scores of outdoor betting rings nationwide. In their latest raid, officers from the Banqiao Police Station and the Luoping County Public Security Bureau arrested over a dozen people found placing bets in a remote evergreen
The post Chinese Gamblers Flock to Countryside to Wager as Online Casino Promoters Target Tech Startups appeared first on CasinoBeats.