A rush of interest in football has fuelled a sharp increase in illegal online gambling on the country, reports Reuters.
An online bettor known only as Li, said: “There are so many gamblers, groups and platforms during [Euro 2016], though, that I think it’s really hard to find all of them.”
Li said he used a private chat group on WeChat, and winnings were distributed via bank transfer, online payments portal Alipay, through WeChat or via so-called “red packets” - an anonymous online transfer.
Chinese police report a surge in illegal gambling online, last week arresting 147 people and freezing funds worth nearly $15m in a single Guangdong operation.
Chinese social media giant Tencent said it is working to eradicate gambling on platforms like WeChat, including restricting groups suspected of gambling behaviour and punishing individual accounts.
