FIFTEEN people were given jail terms of between a year and four years and a half for operating an online gambling ring. They also faced fines of up to 200,000 yuan (US$29,148), according to a ruling handed down by the Nanshan District Court, the Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported.
It is the first criminal case that the Nanshan District Procuratorate has filed and has led to punishments being handed down to the defendants since China launched a campaign to crack down on organized crime. According to the prosecutor, the case had a large number of defendants and involved more than 40 million yuan.
In early 2017, a man surnamed Cai set up an online gambling group on WeChat and hired 14 employees. They had a clear division of labor and operated in two shifts covering the whole day.
The gambling gang organized a contractor to send out red packets on WeChat to lure gamblers. The amount in the red packets determined the points, which determined winning or losing by comparing the points with the banker. The banker would also take 3 percent of each winner’s bet as a commission.
On Dec. 20, 2017, Cai bought gambling software from a man at a price of 80,000 yuan, which provided more conveniences for online gambling. The software can automatically calculate the number of bets and points of each gambler to come up with a result, and can generate detailed report forms according to instructions.
From January 2017 to March 2018, the criminal gang used the Internet to open casinos for gambling activities, which involved up to 41.99 million yuan.
According to the prosecutor, the gang not only provided a gambling venue, but also stipulated the rules for gambling. The huge amount of money and the number of gamblers involved seriously disrupted social order and exerted negative impacts on society, the prosecutor said. (Zhang Yu) |