Skip to main content

Chinese authorities break up billion-dollar cryptocurrency gambling ring

On Thursday, Chinese authorities reported that they had shut down an online gambling ring worth more than $1.5 billion. The dark web gambling ring, which made its fortunes by facilitating bets on the World Cup,  only accepted payments in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Etherum. The South China Morning Post reports that this was the first major Chinese gambling ring to make use of digital currencies.

Law enforcement from the Guangdong province said that during its eight months of operation, the site drew approximately 330,000 users from multiple different countries. The police also report that the site employed more than 8,000 operators who would earn commissions for recruiting new members into what is being described as a pyramid scheme. Chinese authorities said that the syndicate’s ringleaders took advantage of China’s lax rules governing cryptocurrencies to make “huge profits.”

Recommended Videos

While the aforementioned incident is China’s largest example of World Cup gambling, it is far from the only one. Chinese law enforcement have embarked on a campaign meant to root out the various gambling rings that have risen during the World Cup. Law enforcement from the Guangdong province reported that they have arrested 540 suspects and frozen 260 million yuan in cases related to illegal gambling on the World Cup. However, they say that the recently busted crypto ring is the largest of such operations to date.

In addition to cracking down on illegal activities fostered by cryptocurrencies, China is also taking a stricter stance toward digital currencies in general. In September of last year, the government shut down Chinese cryptocurrency exchanges and banned initial coin offerings. The government cited concerns that cryptocurrencies were unregulated and could be a destabilizing influence on the Chinese economy. Those efforts appear to have been somewhat successful as the Chinese central bank has reported that trading between yuan and Bitcoin now accounts for less than one percent of the world’s Bitcoin trades.

Despite the currency’s reputation for illegal dealings, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have plenty of legitimate uses whether as a simple hobby or as a means of buying a brand new Lamborghini. Bitcoin has had a bit of a troubled year so far, but the technology behind it will likely remain even if the currency itself eventually dies out.

Eric Brackett
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Range Rover’s first electric SUV has 48,000 pre-orders
Land Rover Range Rover Velar SVAutobiography Dynamic Edition

Range Rover, the brand made famous for its British-styled, luxury, all-terrain SUVs, is keen to show it means business about going electric.

And, according to the most recent investor presentation by parent company JLR, that’s all because Range Rover fans are showing the way. Not only was demand for Range Rover’s hybrid vehicles up 29% in the last six months, but customers are buying hybrids “as a stepping stone towards battery electric vehicles,” the company says.

Read more
BYD’s cheap EVs might remain out of Canada too
BYD Han

With Chinese-made electric vehicles facing stiff tariffs in both Europe and America, a stirring question for EV drivers has started to arise: Can the race to make EVs more affordable continue if the world leader is kept out of the race?

China’s BYD, recognized as a global leader in terms of affordability, had to backtrack on plans to reach the U.S. market after the Biden administration in May imposed 100% tariffs on EVs made in China.

Read more
Tesla posts exaggerate self-driving capacity, safety regulators say
Beta of Tesla's FSD in a car.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is concerned that Tesla’s use of social media and its website makes false promises about the automaker’s full-self driving (FSD) software.
The warning dates back from May, but was made public in an email to Tesla released on November 8.
The NHTSA opened an investigation in October into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles equipped with the FSD software, following three reported collisions and a fatal crash. The investigation centers on FSD’s ability to perform in “relatively common” reduced visibility conditions, such as sun glare, fog, and airborne dust.
In these instances, it appears that “the driver may not be aware that he or she is responsible” to make appropriate operational selections, or “fully understand” the nuances of the system, NHTSA said.
Meanwhile, “Tesla’s X (Twitter) account has reposted or endorsed postings that exhibit disengaged driver behavior,” Gregory Magno, the NHTSA’s vehicle defects chief investigator, wrote to Tesla in an email.
The postings, which included reposted YouTube videos, may encourage viewers to see FSD-supervised as a “Robotaxi” instead of a partially automated, driver-assist system that requires “persistent attention and intermittent intervention by the driver,” Magno said.
In one of a number of Tesla posts on X, the social media platform owned by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a driver was seen using FSD to reach a hospital while undergoing a heart attack. In another post, a driver said he had used FSD for a 50-minute ride home. Meanwhile, third-party comments on the posts promoted the advantages of using FSD while under the influence of alcohol or when tired, NHTSA said.
Tesla’s official website also promotes conflicting messaging on the capabilities of the FSD software, the regulator said.
NHTSA has requested that Tesla revisit its communications to ensure its messaging remains consistent with FSD’s approved instructions, namely that the software provides only a driver assist/support system requiring drivers to remain vigilant and maintain constant readiness to intervene in driving.
Tesla last month unveiled the Cybercab, an autonomous-driving EV with no steering wheel or pedals. The vehicle has been promoted as a robotaxi, a self-driving vehicle operated as part of a ride-paying service, such as the one already offered by Alphabet-owned Waymo.
But Tesla’s self-driving technology has remained under the scrutiny of regulators. FSD relies on multiple onboard cameras to feed machine-learning models that, in turn, help the car make decisions based on what it sees.
Meanwhile, Waymo’s technology relies on premapped roads, sensors, cameras, radar, and lidar (a laser-light radar), which might be very costly, but has met the approval of safety regulators.

Read more