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Tokyo cops: Yakuza-linked baseball betting ring took wagers via Line

Kazuya Kora (left) and Tomohiro Uchida Kazuya Kora (left) and Tomohiro Uchida[/caption

TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have busted a gambling ring connected to organized crime that accepted wagers on baseball games via the smartphone, reports Nippon News Network (Nov. 15).

Beginning in September of last year, Kazuya Kora, the 46-year-old president of a construction company, brokered wagers from Tomohiro Uchida, a 37-year-old member of the Yamaguchi-gumi, and two other persons for 15 Nippon Professional Baseball games.

Uchida and the other two suspects submitted bets to Kora that they had collected from their own customers. The wagers, valued at 10,000 yen each, were placed via the smartphone application Line.

Kora took a commission of eight percent on winning bets, according to NHK (Nov. 15), netting him at least 50 million yen illegal gains.

Police suspect that the ring amassed a total of around one billion yen in wagers, including some placed on high school games, over the past year, according to TV Asahi (Nov. 15).