Nine Chinese imprisoned in courts in China’s Hunan province for online betting targeting mainland Chinese customers earned 198.8 billion yuan ($28.6 billion) in wages over seven years from 2014, prosecutors said.

The suspects were also said to have been running bricks and mortar casinos in Myanmar: in Monla, Shan state, a region bordering China’s Yunnan province, and international commentators say it is not under full control of Myanmar’s military government.

The Hunan court described the charges as a “cross-border” gambling case. Nine people, each extracted from Hebei, Shaanxi and Henan provinces, were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 18 months to five years, Chinese digital media The Paper reported on Friday.

Citing the Qiyang People’s Court in Hunan province, the report said the defendants were sentenced to “set up casinos” for recruiting players for online gambling practices, accepting players’ bets and providing settlement services for online gaming activities.

The court also said proxy bets were involved. The accused enabled online bets by mainland Chinese people watching online video streams of various casino games, including baccarat, at bricks and mortar casinos in Monra.

The online operation attracted more than 253,000 users during the active period, Chinese media reported, citing the findings of a judicial investigation reviewed in the case.

The outlet also noted that several other mainland Chinese were separately sentenced after Hunan court trials in 2019 and 2020 for their involvement in the Mongla-based casino.

They are said to have helped remit customers’ bets and continuously move websites and IP addresses for proxy betting activities.

BY: 슬롯머신