Online gambling a huge concern
18/3/2005 8:49
Shanghai Daily news About 35 percent of gambling
convictions issued in the city this year have been of the online variety, the
Shanghai People's Prosecutors' Office revealed yesterday. "Compared to
traditional gambling, online gambling costs less and is more difficult to
detect," said Zhu Bochen, a spokesman for the office. "The trend has developed
quickly in recent years." Most online cases involve soccer gambling. Because
of its convenience and high profit, it has attracted many punters, prosecutors
said. So far this year, city prosecutors have charged 56 people in 17
gambling cases. These include traditional gambling games such as cards. Last
year, a resident surnamed Hu was charged with organizing online soccer betting
by the Yangpu District Prosecutors' Office. In 2004, the man applied to set
up the local agency for a Taiwan-based gambling firm which operated the Baoying
Website. After Hu got the user name and code, he hired unemployed residents
to recruit gamblers. "They were handling 5,150 bets which added up to 4.74
million yuan (US$573,000) in several months," Zhu said. The gang earned 140,000
yuan in profit. "Such gambling is not restricted by time and space," said
Zhu. "Gamblers can contact the agency through the Internet or by telephone at
any time." Prosecutors pointed out an agency can earn much more online than
that of traditional gambling. The attraction has lured many to take the
risk. On February 24, 2004, the Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People's Court
sentenced an online gambling gang to prison. The leader, Feng Zaisheng, a Taiwan
native, was sentenced 2 1/2 years in jail. He was the first to be convicted of
online gambling charges in the city. Prosecutors also said gambling gangs
were becoming better organized. Individual members usually had their own tasks,
such as receiving money, keeping records or contacting
gamblers.
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