The hidden "roulette wheel" at the beginning may seem like a casual small game, but in reality, it is "small and broad"
Recently, the reporter received multiple reports from the public that a video live streaming platform had installed games with gambling characteristics, and the host recommended them to players during the live broadcast. They obtained gift income through "heroes fighting monsters" and monetized it. The reporter discovered through undercover investigation that the game called "Hero Tower Defense" is a typical roulette probability gameplay, without any game skills, and has obvious gambling properties.
In order to avoid legal sanctions and related responsibilities, the live streaming platform, knowing that the game is suspected of gambling, allows the host and players to trade virtual gifts through cash, while leaving a "backdoor" for exchanging virtual currency for RMB, which has the objective fact of "up and down points". Since 2021, Xiao Qing has cumulatively recharged over 5 million yuan on this platform, leaving all funds with no return. Except for personal savings, all of this money is bank loans, online loans, and loans from family and friends.
![The hidden "roulette wheel" at the beginning may seem like a casual small game, but in reality, it is "small and broad"](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/714b9b0f9cee542e390c5e1afd00a81f.jpg)
In October 2022, Mr. Xu from Anqing City, Anhui Province drowned in a pond. When preparing the aftermath, the family discovered that he had a large amount of interaction and recharge records on another live streaming platform, with a total amount exceeding 1.4 million yuan. After investigation, a game that is almost identical to "Hero Tower Defense" has also been embedded in this live streaming platform.
Legal professionals have stated that the so-called "tower defense" games set up on such live streaming platforms are not intended to provide players with leisure and entertainment, but rather serve as a tool for "small but broad" profit, with subjective intent; And the game has formed a closed chain of "accepting bets", "random wins and losses", and "coin refunds and exchanges", achieving huge illegal profits, which is suspected of constituting the crime of opening a casino as stipulated in the Criminal Law.
![The hidden "roulette wheel" at the beginning may seem like a casual small game, but in reality, it is "small and broad"](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/ddc21096f54f7daf9cdc3cb75ba147d9.jpg)
According to relevant sources, online gambling is more covert than traditional gambling. Due to its unrestricted space, convenient personnel participation, wide coverage, and large amount of gambling funds, it poses a serious threat to social stability. At the same time, online gambling is often intertwined with crimes such as fraud and money laundering, which can easily breed other crimes and further amplify its social harm. It is urgent to control it from the root.