Police in Macau have raided two illegal gambling rings that have yielded million dollars of bets related to this year's World Cup tournament. Officers arrested 26 in two raids on a hotel in the Chinese city, apprehending bookmakers who had been taking bets online and on the phone from across the world.

Information from the raid revealed that one gambler had placed a bet of more than $5 million alone. According to BBC News, "Gambling is mostly illegal in mainland China, although it is allowed in Macau and, to a lesser extent, Hong Kong."

There has been a recent crackdown on gambling in the Chinese cities, however, due to criminal gangs getting involved in the underground networks, authorities say. Those who were arrested were handcuffed and paraded in front of the media with with black bags over their heads.

According to the South China Morning Post:

Since the World Cup kicked off in Brazil in the early hours of Friday last week, Hong Kong police have arrested 39 suspected illegal bookmakers and confiscated betting slips worth nearly HK$85 million.

[Image via AP]