China broke up US$1.5 billion cryptocurrency World Cup gambling ring

Chinese police have broken up an illegal World Cup gambling ring hosting more than 10 billion yuan (US$1.5 billion) worth of cryptocurrency bets.

The gambling ring ran on the dark web and only accepted cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, ethereum, and litecoin, according to Guangdong police. The gambling platform operated for 8 months. They had 330,000 registered users from around the world and had 8,000 people paid on commissions to recruit new members.

In a separate statement on Thursday, Guangdong police said they had arrested a total of 540 suspects from over 20 gambling rings, and frozen 260 million yuan related to the criminal activities, in a special campaign to crack down on World Cup gambling.