All 20 defendants in Shanghai’s biggest online soccer gambling case admitted their guilt at a court hearing earlier this week, according to Shanghai Daily.
The cash illegally staked exceeded 6.6 billion yuan (USD965 million), claimed the prosecution. The gang allegedly earned more than 1.6 million yuan in commissions on that sum between August 2006 and May 2008, via a pyramid style system of agents.
The ringleaders were named as Qian Baochun, 41 and Zou Jun, 45. The men allegedly operated the gambling ring by applying for accounts at soccer gambling websites operating from Macau, Malaysia and elsewhere.
They used this method to found three online casinos they named after recognised gambling brands: Sun City; Crown and Fontana. AGI would like to point out there is no suggestion whatsoever that any of those legitimate operators had any involvement in the scam.
A formal verdict and sentencing against the defendants has yet to be announced.
The previous record in Shanghai for money allegedly pulled in by an illegal online betting ring in was 5.25 billion yuan (USD770 million), in a case heard at Luwan District Court in March 2007.
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