The Shanghai Daily newspaper reports that police in the Chinese city of Changzhou have arrested 17 members of an online gambling ring led by one Zeng Weiquan, seizing records and 40 million yuan in cash along with 35 computers.
Police spokesmen said the cross-border internet gambling ring involved more than 50,000 players and over 3 billion yuan (US$437 million) in bets over a five-year period.
The group had run a Guangdong-based technology company as a front for two internet gambling websites, attracting millions of punters from China’s mainland, Taiwan, the Philippines and Malaysia.
The un-named websites were based in the Philippines and Malaysia with servers registered in Taiwan, police said.
The clandestine gambling network surfaced after some of its customers were caught by police earlier this year, leading to further police investigations and raiding activity.