Foreign Internet gambling site caught operating illegally in S. Korea

SEOUL, Feb. 24 (Yonhap) -- Police arrested the main operators of a multinational
30-billion-won (US$19.8 million) online gambling site Tuesday on charges of
illegal operation in South Korea.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said three men were charged for running
"Mansion 88," a Singapore-based gambling business linked to "Mansion" that
operates in England with sponsorship from the British Premier League.
Four other people were booked, but not detained, investigators said.
With the exception of Kangwon Land casino, only foreign nationals are allowed to
gamble in Korea, while online gambling is completely banned.
The suspects allegedly operated the unregistered Web site using proxy servers in
the Philippines and Macau since December 2007, attracting some 2,700 members
through spam mails and raising some 30 billion won in sales using dummy accounts
for transactions. The site operators pocketed 4 billion won in dealers' fees,
investigators said.
Police plan to further probe some 70 users of the Web site who placed bets of
over 50 million won.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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