Shanghai police have foiled an illegal online gambling ring that is believed to have netted more than CNY400 million (approximately $60 million), police officers disclosed this weekend.

As many as fourteen individuals were arrested for their alleged involvement in the gang, police told media. There is an ongoing investigation into the illegal operation.

Police said this weekend that the probe was launched after a man was arrested in Jinshan District earlier this year and was found to have frequently contacted a person, surnamed Li, who was in turn found to have conducted multiple money transfers with a loan company and to have shared online gambling accounts with other citizens.

With the Russia World Cup ahead, police assembled a team to investigate the matter more thoroughly. Officers found that Li was part of a gang that was in turn connected to an illegal online sports betting business. The group operated an unlicensed loan company and wagered money with an illegal offshore betting website.

Police conducted raids in the Jinshan, Yangpu, Minhang, and Putuo Districts on June 14, the day the World Cup tournament kicked off in Russia. The raids resulted in the arrest of fourteen people believed to be behind the illegal operation. Police also seized CNY100,000 worth of bets, more than 20 bank cards, and equipment used by gang members to provide illegal betting services.

The detained individuals told police that they acted as a loan company to lure bettors. They opened accounts with a foreign website and deposited money on behalf of their customers. Gang members would collect part of bettors’ wagers as a profit from the operation.

News about the illegal gambling gang nabbed by Shanghai police came shortly after it broke out that Chinese police have busted a $1.5-billion bitcoin betting ring as part of the nationwide crackdown on illegal gambling that took place during the World Cup.

Six individuals were arrested in relation to the case. They were found to have been tied to an illegal web-based betting syndicate that provided betting on football ahead of and during the major football championship.

Police said that the illegal platform accepted cryptocurrencies only, mostly bitcoin, ethereum, and litecoin, to avoid legal and regulatory pitfalls. It is believed that the gambling ring thus accumulated more than $1.5 billion worth of bets on World Cup matches.

According to reports from various news outlets, the illegal betting platform accepted bets for a period of eight months before being foiled by police. It saw 330,000 customers from around the world open accounts with it. More than 8,000 individuals acted as agents and earned commissions for each customer they lured into the operation.

The betting business was China’s largest one to have involved the use of digital currencies only. Chinese police also cracked down on multiple traditional illegal gambling operations around the country throughout the World Cup.

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