Illegal Online Gambling in Taiwan Exploits Women

In Taiwan, sixteen alleged members of an unlawful internet gambling firm were arrested. They are accused of operating out of a rented television studio, located in Taipei. The gambling site ran for a quarter of a year prior to being closed by the police.

The illegal firm was offering live dealer casino games, a feature which is rapidly growing in popularity at online casinos in Taiwan and around the world. When the police shut down this operation, it was discovered that ‘models’ were being improperly used, acting as dealers and croupiers.

Further investigation revealed the illegal gambling firm hired 40 models from a modeling agency for $50,000. According to Taiwanese gambling laws, live dealers must be legally certified, even for online casinos. Not only did this illegal firm forego this requirement, but it was afterwards revealed two models, being only 16 and 17 years old, were under age.

Perhaps less of a legal issue than a moral or ethical one, the models-cum-croupiers were not presented in a professional style. Instead of a uniform or an elegant evening dress, the models were required to show themselves off with heavily painted faces in sexually provocative garments. They were instructed to act in lustfully evocative manners like holding dice tumblers near their chests.

Gamblers were enabled to select preferred croupiers. Not surprisingly, exploiting these models this way enabled the Taiwanese internet casino to attract more than 1,000 new gamblers over its three-month lifespan. A dual edge sword, this successful draw may also have prompted more rapid attention from the police than a more low-key operation would have.

Police investigations are ongoing. It is known that the operation had additional operators, but they are yet to be identified. Online gamblers who banked money at this casino are unlikely to recover their assets.