The Central News Agency reported from Taoyuan on April 17 that the Taiwan Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office announced today the crackdown on a gambling ring targeting the results of the year-end local elections. The platform was located overseas and used cryptocurrency betting to evade detection. A man surnamed Liao, who placed bets, has been arrested and referred for prosecution under the Public Officials Election and Recall Act.
Taoyuan Prosecutors stated that they received reports from the Kinmen County Police Department Criminal Investigation Division and the Taoyuan City Police Department Criminal Investigation Team that someone had set up an election gambling market on the overseas decentralized prediction platform Polymarket, targeting "Taiwan Local Elections 2026: Party Winners," enticing the public to bet with cryptocurrency.
Taoyuan Prosecutors stated that after an in-depth investigation by a special task force, it was discovered that a man surnamed Liao was involved in betting on the results of mayoral and county magistrate party elections through cryptocurrency via the internet. He was apprehended at Taoyuan International Airport yesterday when returning from overseas.
According to Taoyuan Prosecutors' investigation, the election gambling market targeted the total number of seats for each political party in this year's mayoral and county magistrate elections. The betting website was a PK gambling platform, using USDC cryptocurrency as betting chips, with the platform charging handling fees for deposits and withdrawals, and bets placed by unspecified individuals.
Taoyuan Prosecutors stated that according to the Election and Recall Act, participating in election gambling, whether online or offline, carries a maximum sentence of six months imprisonment; operators face a maximum of five years imprisonment, and illegal gains (including virtual assets) will all be confiscated according to law. (Editor: Li Ming-chung) 1150417
FACT BOX
- Source: CNA (Central News Agency)
- Category: regulation