Guangzhou - Police in Guangdong province have pledged to give the boot to more gambling gangs, as they intensify a crackdown that has already netted several illegal operations during the FIFA World Cup.

In addition to breaking up several major gambling gangs, investigators announced they have seized a vast amount of cash.

A senior police officer in a Guangdong public security bureau, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the World Cup is a favorite target of gamblers and anti-gambling initiatives across the world.

Guangdong province started its crackdown before the FIFA World Cup kicked off on Friday.

In late May, police in Foshan, a prefecture-level city west of Guangzhou, smashed an alleged large online gambling gang in Chancheng district, arresting a 39-year-old man surnamed Hong along with 19 other suspects.

Officers seized more than 200,000 yuan ($29,000) in cash and froze the suspected gambling operation's bank accounts, which contained more than 600 million yuan.

According to reports, police involved in the gambling crackdown have frozen tens of millions of additional yuan in Guangzhou and other cities in Guangdong province.

Guangzhou is reportedly at the heart of a rising tide of interest in online gambling centered on the World Cup.

The day before the tournament started, the city's police started scouring online sites and rounded up 24 online gamblers, who had allegedly tried to bet on soccer matches.

Officers also visited entertainment venues and said they found rampant betting on soccer matches in illegal bookmaking operations based places such as hotel rooms.

At 3 am on June 6, Guangzhou police sent more than 600 heavily armed anti-riot police to the Song of Brothers KTV on Changdi Road in the city's Yuexiu district, where they remained until nearly noon.

And overnight on June 10, after quietly arriving in vehicles, more than 100 special police armed with mini-submachine guns and backed by police dogs resumed checking entertainment venues on Changdi Road in their hunt for gambling operations.

A senior police officer said such crackdowns are needed during important sporting events such as the World Cup, because that is when illegal gambling is at its height.

Unlike in past years, gambling has become a more secretive operation that is better hidden in the city and surrounding region, the officer said.

Nationwide, by last Saturday police had cracked 740 alleged online gambling operations, arrested more than 3,600 suspects and frozen 700 million yuan, according to Xinhua.

China Daily

(China Daily 06/16/2010 page3)