The leader of an illegal online gambling cartel has been jailed for six years and fined more than HALF-A-MILLION POUNDS.

Nineteen other men were handed prison terms ranging from one to five years and fines of between £2,000 and  £100,000.

Overseas

“This is possibly the country’s biggest online gambling case,” the spokesman for Shanghai Putuo District People’s Court, Zhang Minxian, told reporters.

A report by the Xinhua News Agency says the gang set up shop to coincide with the 2006 World Cup, which was hosted by Germany.

The court heard Qian and two others opened accounts on overseas gambling websites and began to develop a network of agents and gamblers across China, earning £162,000 from wagers.