China’s Ministry of Public Security has identified what it calls a “mega cross-border online gambling case,” arresting 93 suspects on the Chinese mainland. So far, at least 50 of those have been charged with the crime of “establishment of casino.”
The duration of the alleged activities was not mentioned in the report. But it cited police saying the group had been hiring staff from the mainland “in the past few years.”
Official media outlet China Central Television (CCTV) reported that the server, using an online gambling platform called “Cayagan,” was based in the Philippines and served gamblers in mainland China. According to Inside Asian Gaming, the platform had almost 1 million users.
More than 50,000 agents worked to recruit players, and 300 more enlisted workers, mostly Chinese nationals, to operate the platform from a base in the Philippines. In 2023, Chinese officials undertook a sting to arrest some of those involved in the “criminal syndicate” on their return to China. Investigators discovered that the case had “capital flow” totaling RMB725.5 billion (US$100.8 billion).
GGRAsia reports that police also confiscated CNY20 million in cash.
The purported gang had attracted circa “1 million” mainland registrants and involved “over 50,000 agents ” there, tasked with soliciting players, said CCTV.
