Shanghai court sentences 20 to prison in online gambling case
A court in Shanghai has sentenced 20 people to prison after convicting them of running an online sports gambling operation worth nearly 1 billion dollars, state media said on Monday.
The syndicate collected a total of 6.6 billion yuan (966 million dollars) in stakes for overseas gambling websites via a network of local agents, the semi-official China News Service said.
It began operating in 2006 for the football World Cup in Germany, the agency quoted prosecutors at the Shanghai Putuo District People's Court as saying.
"This is possibly the country's biggest online gambling case," the official Xinhua news agency court spokesman Zhang Minxian as saying.
The court sentenced ringleader Qian Baochun, 41, to six years in prison on Sunday and fined him 5 million yuan (735,000 dollars), the reports said.
The 19 others convicted of running the illegal gambling were sentenced to between one year and five years in prison.
All 20 defendants pleaded guilty at a hearing last month.
Most forms of gambling remain illegal in China, apart from state-run lotteries and small-scale totalizer-system betting on horse racing in some areas.
- Login or register to post comments
Print
Email to friend
You May Also Like..
Must reads
According to the Lancet, a fit and healthy 67 year old man was inexplicably struck down by a serious fever in March and had to be hospitalised in...
A new study by researchers from the University of New Hampshire refutes the theory of marijuana being a gateway drug, and pot smokers going on to...
The introduction of the new health care reform has prompted states to mull over the possibility of setting up a new marketplace, where consumers...
According to a study published online Wednesday, customers purchasing organic fruits and vegetables, believing them to be tastier, more nutritious...
There has been a strong shift in the attitude towards smokers, with a new survey finding that around 38% of landlords are prepared to throw out...
The World’s Biggest Coffee Morning returns to challenge java lovers in York to raise £55,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support.
Those who enjoy...
The findings of a study by a think tank reveal Northern Ireland to have the lowest level of economic activity in the UK, causing the unemployment...
Dr. Tony Jewell, Chief Medical Officer for Wales is urging parents to ensure their children are vaccinated against 11 life-threatening diseases....
Featured Articles
-
Last night, a stunned television audience...
-
The federal government has been pushed into...
-
According to the US Agriculture Department (...
-
Just as Homer City’s local West Nile Virus...
-
As students head back to school, a new flu...
