Singapore arrest 33 in online gambling sweep

Singapore police have broken up a major illegal online gambling ring, the first such bust since the city-state’s first legal online betting options launched.

On Monday, the Singapore Police Force issued a statement announcing the arrest of 24 men and nine women following a series of raids that hit over 30 locations across Singapore on Sunday.

Police said the illegal gambling ring operated several online lottery and horse betting websites. The group appears to have been a classic credit betting ring, with a network of agents who kept track of accounts and collected money from betting clients. The ring is believed to have handled wagers worth over $2m just in the past month.

In the course of their raids, police seized cash totaling around $1.3m, as well as the usual collection of computers, mobile phones and paper betting records. Police also froze bank accounts containing an additional $6.5m and 36 real estate properties worth a combined $39m.