Military authorities in Taiwan are investigating reports that a group of officers were involved in an illegal online betting pool that took wagers on Chinese motor sports.
A report in Wednesday’s Taipei Times indicates that the pool was launched earlier this year at the Pingtung Air Base by a female non-commissioned officer identified only as Chen, who used the Line mobile networking app to organize the gambling activities of around a dozen personnel from all military branches.
Chen reportedly acted as an intermediary for illegal betting sites specializing in Chinese motor sports competitions, creating betting accounts for the military personnel while providing gamblers with analysis of upcoming races and prognostications on the outcomes.
The participating gamblers apparently lacked familiarity with Chinese motor sports, leading some of them to rack up significant losses. The biggest loser among Chen’s roster of gamblers was another female non-com identified as Ho who reported losing around NT 1m (US $33k).
The stress Ho suffered from her mounting gambling losses reportedly affected her job performance, leading to inquiries from her superiors and her eventual confession to her involvement in the online betting pool.
The resulting internal probe identified the pool’s other participants and Chen’s role as ringleader. Air Force Command HQ issued a statement saying the brass would “launch legal proceedings to address disciplinary matters” that would include reprimands and demerit points. It’s unclear whether these penalties would apply only to Chen or to the other bettors as well.
Gambling is tightly controlled in Taiwan, with local residents restricted to the lottery and precious little else. That hasn’t stopped ambitious (and occasionally murderous) operators from establishing highly lucrative illegal online gambling operations in Taiwan, reinforcing the notion that prohibition makes for good political soundbites but really bad policy.
