TLDR Cybersecurity firm Infoblox is tracking more than 1.7 million domains tied to Chinese-language illegal casino activity. Operators constantly rotate domain names, so blocking one site has little effect on the wider network. A recently active site used the Venetian Macao name without any real connection to the resort. Infoblox sorted suspicious sites into three groups: illegal gambling platforms, fake casinos, and decoy pages hiding cyberespionage tools. Just two networks account for about 81% of the tracked domains, showing the activity is controlled by a small number of groups.
Cybersecurity company Infoblox says it is tracking more than 1.7 million domains linked to Chinese-language illegal casino activity. The company published its findings on September 15.
Infoblox said the domains are part of an online network aimed mostly at mainland Chinese players. Money-laundering groups are also tied to the activity.
The 1.7 million figure does not mean there are 1.7 million separate gambling operators. It also doesn’t mean there are that many unique websites either.
How the Networks Stay Online
According to Infoblox, the groups behind these sites keep creating new domain names on a rolling basis. When one address gets blocked, operators simply redirect users to another one from their pool.
This setup makes it hard to pin down how many operators are actually behind the activity. It also means blocking a single site does little to slow down the larger network.
Infoblox found one recently active domain using the Venetian Macao name next to casino and gambling-style games. The company said there is no evidence the site has any real link to the Venetian Macao resort.
Infoblox explained that big casino brands showing up on shady sites are usually not connected to the actual operation. The real companies are typically victims of brand misuse, not participants