Taiwan police arrest 43 people over illegal online betting

Police in Taiwan have arrested 43 people on suspicion of running a network of illegal gambling websites in the Taichung district of Taipei.

The Criminal Investigation Bureau seized more than US $100,000 in cash along with 73 computers, 63 mobile phones and 10 data servers in raids on 15 separate locations.

It is understood the unlicensed sports betting sites handled upwards of $3.2 million per day in wagers on baseball, basketball, soccer, tennis and motor racing.

Among those arrested was a 42-year-old man named Wang, believed to be the chief architect of the racket.

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Unit Captain Chen Chieg-Chang said Wang had registered the sites as information technology companies and used remote servers in Hong Kong and the Philippines in a bid to avoid detection.

“We have evidence Wang is the main financial backer for the illegal gambling business,” he explained.

“He got a friend, a man surnamed Hsiao, to register several information technology start-ups last year, but these were shell entities to cover the operations of the online gambling sites.”

With the exception of state-run lotteries, most forms of gaming and wagering are outlawed in Taiwan.

Nevertheless, there are thousands of offshore betting sites and online casinos that accept Taiwanese gamblers.

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