Police in the capital have made their first arrests of alleged soccer gamblers since the start of the World Cup.
Officers in Haidian district and from the cyber security department of the municipal public security bureau arrested the three suspects near Beitaipingzhuang, Beijing News reported on Wednesday.
A suspect surnamed Yang reportedly admitted to betting online on the outcome of World Cup games and said he had done so since the start of the tournament in June.
The three suspects were picked up while watching the World Cup game between the United States and Slovenia. Officers said the men had waged up to 30,000 yuan ($4,422).
"The minimum deposit for a gamble is 2,000 yuan and we offer a 20 percent bonus for the bets of new gamblers who register on our website for the first time," a representative of a gambling web proxy said.
Most foreign World Cup gambling websites cannot be opened in mainland, but many free web proxies offer a gambling service.
QQ, the popular networking site, is one of the places where World Cup gambling is believed to take place. It is thought to be used as a platform for online gambling. Bets are transferred by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT).
Opponents of gambling point out that an obsession with betting can end in financial ruin and break up families.
Wang Lin, 41, was sent to a mental health facility after his addiction to soccer gambling led to him eventually trying to extort money from his parents by threatening them with a knife.
"He has gambled on football (soccer) for six years. All his possessions were lost on the games," Wang's sister said.
She said he sold his apartments and cars to finance bets and stopped working after he started betting on matches in 2004.
"He borrowed money from every relative and then threatened our parents," she said. "He even needed to take tranquilizers sometimes in the hospital."
Jin Xiao, a psychological consultant at 309 Hospital of the PLA, said 76 percent of gambling addicts have dysthymia disorders.
"However, we cannot give comprehensive treatment if they are not willing to accept it," Jin said.
Special Coverage:Business embraces World Cup"We just gamble casually for fun. In this way, we enjoy the game more when we watch," said Wang.
But others prefer to bet on a larger scale, partly because of the adrenaline rush it brings.
Wang Jia, 25, a white-collar worker said his friend bet on the World Cup through a Macao-based gambling website.
"I watched my friend gambling and I felt so excited," he said. "Everything can change in just a few seconds. My friend thought he would lose when Holland played against Slovakia on Monday but he won in the very last 20 seconds. That is why it attracts so many people. I think it's fun."
