Nine arrested for betting on World Cup

Hong Kong police arrested nine people today for taking bets on World Cup soccer matches, in a continuing crackdown on illegal gambling.

A police statement said the suspects, whose names were not released, were nabbed during overnight raids on 12 residential buildings that were being used as illegal bookmaking centres.

Also seized were betting slips worth 10 million Hong Kong dollars (£850,000), it said.

The arrested were members of five soccer bookmaking syndicates, police said.

Last Saturday, police arrested six bookmakers and seized betting slips totalling 20.45 million Hong Kong dollars (£1.8 million) as part of their crackdown on World Cup gambling. The tournament, hosted jointly by Japan and South Korea, ends on June 30.

Betting on football is illegal in Hong Kong, which permits wagering only on horse racing and a numbers-game lottery.

Last week, the Hong Kong government tightened its anti-gambling law by banning people here from placing bets with overseas bookmakers by telephone or the Internet.

Those convicted of illegal bookmaking face a maximum jail sentence of seven years and a fine of five million Hong Kong dollars (£457,000).