Twenty-nine people were arrested and 140 gamblers charged over an illegal Korean betting website which utilised stolen vision to offer odds on global horse racing.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency busted the gambling ring earlier this month, exposing a sophisticated global criminal enterprise, including illegally streamed vision from the Korea Racing Authority (KRA).
During raids on the site, local police arrested 29 people involved with six taken in custody for a breach of gambling laws.
The operation was initially based out of Ilsan in Korea but relocated much of its business to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam over the past two years.
The site facilitated 170 billion won (A$183 million) worth of bets among a customer base of 17,795.
As part of the crackdown, 140 account holders were also charged with illegal gambling having placed bets of more than 5 million won each (A$5000).
Police allege that the syndicate stole a feed of Korean racing from a vendor in China, paying the equivalent of AU$2000 per month between December 2022 and November 2024.
It showcased both Korean and Japanese racing.
Customers for the site were sourced via a YouTube influencer with around 10,000 subscribers as well as unsolicited text messaging.
One of those charged is a YouTuber accused of placing 214 million won (A$115,000) across 116 bets.
Korean police said their investigation began in June last year.
They said the group frequently changed phones and opened accounts under borrowed names to handle payments.
“All online horse racing websites other than the official KRA service are illegal, and users may be prosecuted for gambling,” a police official was quoted as saying.
