China disrupts online gambling operation that handled wagers worth $46m

Authorities in China have disrupted the local operations of a Philippines-based illegal online gambling network.

On Tuesday, China’s official news agency Xinhua reported that police in the south central province of Hunan had arrested 19 individuals suspected of running an illegal online gambling ring.

The arrests follow a three-month investigation by police in Loudi City, southwest of the provincial capital of Changsha, following a tip-off from two Loudi residents who claimed to have lost money interacting with an illegal lottery website. One of the disgruntled customers claimed to have lost over RMB 80k (US $12,300) in just five days.

Police claimed the network of illegal sites operated by the gang boasted over 10k users who reportedly wagered over RMB 300m ($46.2m) on the sites since the operation launched in 2014. Police have frozen more than 200 bank accounts linked to the network, while confiscating over 100 computers and some 11 limousines (the need for which went unexplained).