Fifteen people were detained after an operation targeting a transnational sports gambling ring that allegedly catered to Chinese betting on European soccer matches, police said on Monday.
On Saturday last week, officers used tools to pry open metal doors at an office building in Tainan to gain entry and detained the people inside, who were allegedly involved in a gambling ring headed by a man surnamed Ting (丁), police said.
Officers seized digital devices and telecommunications equipment, including 40 desktop and notebook computers, 103 mobile phones, accounting books and other material, they said.
Investigators said that the operation was linked to the Tao Gin Net sports gambling Web site, which accepted bets on professional soccer games, including spread bets, and only dealt with Chinese clients.
The phones were connected to numbers in China, they said.
An examination of transactions made through the Web site and data taken from the computers showed that the operation focused on matches in the “Big Five” leagues of European soccer — the English Premier League, Spain’s La Liga, Germany’s Bundesliga, Italy’s Serie A and Ligue 1 in France.
China is a big market for soccer, with games from the “Big Five” and other top divisions in Europe broadcast on Chinese TV.
The material and other evidence indicated that the operation had more than 2,000 members in China who had signed up to wire money via Chinese online payment systems, investigators said, adding that betting and payment amounts were all denominated in Chinese yuan.
Ting told investigators that he was previously based in Manila, where he operated an online sports betting site, but returned to Taiwan in September last year due to declining business amid the COVID-19 pandemic, they said.
In Taiwan, Ting linked up with a businessman who was seeking an experienced manager to run a similar operation targeting the Chinese market for betting on European soccer, they said.
Investigators said that the site had turnover of 50.24 million yuan (US$7.68 million) in four months of operation.
Ting and the other 14 people who were detained would likely face illegal gambling and other charges, police said.
An investigation to determine whether Ting’s operation was connected to organized crime syndicates is ongoing, police said.
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