Shanghai police go for gambling gangs

Shanghai police have busted a cross-border gambling gang using live-streaming images of the casinos outside China in July, capturing 150 suspects, with total money transaction values of more than 100 million yuan (about $13.8 million), the city's public security bureau revealed on Wednesday.

Unlike previous cases, the gang provided live-streaming images of casinos overseas, trying to lure more gamblers with an immersive experience. The gamblers use accounts of overseas gambling websites to transfer money, making the investigation very difficult, according to Zhang Zhe, an officer with the Baoshan branch of the bureau, at a press conference.

Zhang said there is a growing trend that illegal cross-border gambling has moved online as the number of people traveling overseas to go to casinos has been reduced in recent years.

"More cross-border gambling cases are organized online, especially since the outbreak of COVID-19," Zhang said.

In another case revealed on Wednesday, another gang using an app on e-sport gambling was also busted. To crack down on crimes and improve public security, Shanghai police joined a 100-day nationwide operation in late June.

The city's police have taken criminal precautionary measures against over 800 suspects and given penalties to 1,100 people involved so far this year, according to Zhuang Liqiang, spokesperson for the bureau. It is believed 170 million yuan is involved in the cases investigated during this campaign.

Cross-border gambling crimes are now heavily reliant on the Internet, with major types of organizing people to participate in overseas gambling activities, and providing financial and technical support to gambling applications and websites, Zhuang said.

Zheng Zheng contributed to the story.