From Reuters:
Police in China’s southwestern province of Sichuan have brought down a 1 billion yuan (68 million pounds) soccer gambling ring, a Chinese newspaper reported on Wednesday, as World Cup betting reaches fever pitch.
Gambling has been illegal in mainland China since the Communists took power in 1949, but the country’s absence from the World Cup finals has not prevented many Chinese enjoying a flutter.
An online betting Web site set up in Hong Kong by an “underground” company and run in Sichuan’s capital Chengdu had over 2000 registered users from across the country, the Beijing News said. [Full Text]