BEIJING — China has reversed the rising trend of cross-border gambling through a series of national and special operations since 2020, the Ministry of Public Security said on April 8.

Chinese police have investigated more than 17,000 cross-border gambling and related cases, in which close to 110,000 suspects were apprehended, said the ministry.

More than 3,400 online gambling platforms, and over 2,800 illegal payment platforms and underground banks were broken up during the operations, it added.

At a special meeting on combating cross-border gambling, State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Zhao Kezhi lauded the achievements and demanded that the tough stance against such crimes continue.

The most stringent measures should be implemented to crush networks enabling cross-border gambling, said Zhao.