China: Online gaming CEO DouYu arrested on suspicion of opening 'illegal casinos'
The news came more than two weeks after the announcement of his disappearance. In a statement published on Chinese media on Wednesday, police confirmed the arrest of the head of the online gaming platform DouYu, suspected of opening a casino.
The logo of the online gaming app DouYu on a mobile phone (illustrative image). AP - Ng Han Guan
By: Stéphane Lagarde Follow
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From our correspondent in Beijing,
Chen Shaojie is the latest business leader to be taken into custody in China. According to a statement from the police in Chengdu, in the south-west of the country, a 39-year-old man named Chen - in Asia it is the first names that define the identity and these are only revealed at the end of the investigation - was arrested on November 16 for allegedly hosting illegal gambling on Chinese territory.
« Fighting Fish »
DouYu's official website said on Tuesday (November 21st) that it had learned of the arrest of its founder, but had not received any official notification regarding the motives of the investigation. As is often the case in this type of case, the revelation of the detention is preceded by a more or less lengthy media appearance. According to revelations by Cover News two weeks ago, Chen Shaojie has disappeared from the radar since mid-October. Some even say that contact was lost before that. The CEO of DouYu – which means "fighting fish" in Mandarin – hasn't made many public appearances lately, the Daily Economic News notes: "His last public appearance was on August 14, at the second-quarter earnings call.
»Backed by Tencent, DouYu is the Chinese equivalent of Twitch. Above all, it is one of the largest Chinese online gaming platforms and its success has long accompanied that of its founder. Born in 1984 in Jinan on the east coast, Chen Shaojie soon dropped out of school to start his own business. First a fighting game platform that it will resell, before focusing on live media broadcasting with content such as games, sports, variety. A success that made him enter the list of Hurun billionaires in 2019, before a decline in activity. DouYu's revenue grew from €1.23 billion in 2020 to nearly €913 million in 2022.
Virtual Currency Lotteries
According to the daily Lianhe Zaobao, there have been rumors within the industry lately that funny things are happening in one of the platform's streaming rooms. In this case, the "Changsha Countryside Death Squadron" where players, by purchasing designated accessories, could participate in virtual currency lotteries.
So far, neither DouYu nor the police have confirmed these claims. What is certain, however, is that Chen Shaojie's arrest comes just over five months after the Chinese Cyberspace Administration launched an inspection of the company for "vulgar" content and online casinos. Last winter, in a case declared of national importance by the court and involving investigators under the orders of the Ministry of Public Security, three key account managers on the platform were sentenced to up to six years in prison. This year, a dozen executives from the tech, real estate and finance sectors disappeared from the media, before being officially arrested as part of an anti-corruption investigation.
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