(Yicai Global) June 21 -- Online betting has become popular among some Chinese football aficionados since the 2018 FIFA World Cup kicked off in Russia. Fans buy into illicit pools that masquerade as lotteries mainly via online channels, posts on the WeChat Moments social media platform and microblogging site Weibo show.

'Winning Lottery Everyday' and 'Everybody Wins Lottery' went offline yesterday morning, with notices that all World Cup-themed pools were undergoing upgrades, China Youth Daily reported.

An alert announced that "Per regulators' requirements, all lottery websites have halted sales, but cashing-in of winning lottery tickets already sold will be unaffected. We recommend that those wishing to buy lottery tickets go to nearby physical sales outlets," pops up when searching for these online 'lottery' platforms on Baidu, Yicai Global has discovered.

China's ministries of finance and public security and general sports administration banned individuals and companies from selling lottery tickets on the internet in 2015. Many football fans posted football pool tickets bought online on WeChat's Moments after the World Cup started, however.

The China Welfare Lottery Management Center said that it has never authorized any site or agency to sell tickets on the web, and any such sales via apps are illegal. They recommend users report these online sales to local industry and commerce and public security departments.

Editor: Benedict Armour