The widespread gambling in China during the World Cup has led authorities to intensify their efforts to crack down on it, reports euFootball.BIZ. Gambling is illegal in mainland China but allowed in the territory of Macau.

The Chinese authorities, in a joint effort by the Shenzhen and Hong Kong police, announced that they had cracked down the biggest ever online gambling ring last week in Hong Kong and caught 70 people.

The Xinhua news agency said that the ring is supposed to have dealt with over 100 million in Hong Kong Dollars. The Ministry of Public Security is planning to be vigilant in monitoring online gambling.

Ministry spokesperson Gu Jian said, "We will put the highest priority on smashing football gambling on the Internet during the World Cup. We will continue to exert great pressure and take severe measures against gambling."

Although gambling is illegal in China, an estimated $150 billion worth of underground betting takes place every year. China has not qualified for the World Cup but there is a lot of interest in the football tournament.