Illegal gambling site disguised as preschool

South Korean officials have bust three members of a gang and indicted another nine for running an illegal gambling website that operated under the guise of a pre-school.

The bust followed an intensive investigation that saw 260 bank accounts and cell phone records scrutinised and monitored over a three month period.

The Busan District Prosecutors’ Office charge included the indictment of thirteen people who gambled more than 100 million won each while the search was on for another three gang members linked to the illegal website said a report in the Korea Times.

The website which operated between April 2010 and October 2011 allowed punters to place unlimited bets on both local and international sports matches while another website catered for mobile phone users, a prosecutor confirmed.

Allegedly operating through a main server in Japan and a Chinese currency exchange booth, the accused’s utilised bank accounts opened under fictitious names raking in profits off what authorities estimate to be 12.5 billion Won (approximately $10.5 million) that were wagered on sports betting by “hundreds of people” through these websites.

“Gangsters’ main source of funds seems to have shifted from illegal gambling arcades to online betting sites. We think there may be many more such sites and will expand the probe,” said the prosecutor.

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