Chinese Internet Celebrity Charged With Running Illegal Gambling Operation

Chinese Internet Celebrity Charged With Running Illegal Gambling OperationIn 2011, Guo Meimei acquired internet celebrity by pretending to work for the Red Cross Society of China, and posting countless images of herself living the high-life, thus implying the charity had been misusing its public donation. Soon after, the charity saw its donations sharply fall, forcing the organization to release a statement explaining no relation existed between Guo Meimei and itself. Guo Meimei was then forced to make a public address on state TV apologizing for the damage she caused the Chinese Red Cross she claimed to represent, and at the time stated that “because of my vanity, I’ve made a very big mistake”
Not content to lay low, the 23 year-old with around 1.9 million Weibo followers has now landed herself in further hot water with the authorities, after last June posting a not-so-cryptic clue on her microblog pondering what role she might play in the 2015 World Cup. In August, she was subsequently arrested for heading an internet soccer betting website, and together with other accusations of criminal activity Guo Meimei could now face up to 10 years behind bars. Commenting on the development, the Beijing Dongcheng District People’s Procuratorate released the following statement:
“We have solid evidence to prove Guo and her friend, Zhao Xiaolai, organized others to engage in gambling on many occasions. The circumstances were so serious that the suspects should be held accountable.”
According to a televised confession Guo Meimei made in August, she was able to organize the illegal gambling ring by opening up gambling accounts at overseas websites and then placing bets with them over the phone. Wearing an orange prison uniform, Guo Meimei also confessed to working as a female escort, a service for which she would charge a minimum of 100,000 yuan ($17,400), and stated that:
“There are many who would spend money to sleep with me for a night, no matter the price.”


Poker News
01 May 2018
Last Tuesday, US-facing poker site Americas Cardroom (ACR) was targeted by a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack which crippled the site’s traffic, ultimately leading to a cancellation of the tournaments it was running at the time. After working to resolve the issue, another cyber attack was then launched against ACR on Sunday, meaning that
29 Mar 2018
Last week, Francisco Vallejo Pons, a Spanish chess Grandmaster, pulled out of the European Individual Championship in Batumi, Georgia having made it through to the competition’s fifth round. Vallejo had previously won the event in 2013, and was this year’s fourth placed seed, with the tournament acting as an important qualifier for the 2019 Chess
21 Mar 2018
Earlier this week, Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security (MoPS), headed by General Tran Dai Quang (photo), decided to clarify details about its crackdown on illegal online gambling and money laundering in the country. The move was apparently made because of what was described as “inaccurate reports” circulating about its operation in the northern province of
06 Mar 2018
The Crown Casino in Melbourne is facing disciplinary action that could lead to the suspension of its gaming license following evidence tabled by MP Andrew Wilkie in the federal parliament related to illicit practices in Australia’s slot machine market. As a spokeswoman for the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation (VCGLR) stated on March