TLDR
- A Chinese cybercrime syndicate called Vigorish Viper is operating a vast network of illegal online gambling sites
- The group uses sophisticated technology and DNS manipulation to evade detection
- Vigorish Viper is linked to human trafficking and money laundering operations in Southeast Asia
- The syndicate exploits European football club sponsorships to advertise illegal gambling sites
- The operation is estimated to be part of a $1.7 trillion annual illegal global gambling economy
A sophisticated Chinese cybercrime syndicate, dubbed Vigorish Viper by researchers, has been uncovered as the driving force behind a vast network of illegal online gambling operations.
The group, which has ties to money laundering and human trafficking across Southeast Asia, employs an advanced “technology suite” that manages the entire cybercrime supply chain.
Infoblox, a cloud network security company, revealed that Vigorish Viper’s operations are linked to the Yabo Group (also known as Yabo Sports), which has a history of illegal gambling operations and pig butchering scams.
The group’s technology suite, marketed in China as “baowang” (meaning “full package”), includes Domain Name System (DNS) configurations, website hosting, payment mechanisms, advertising, and mobile apps.
One of the most alarming aspects of Vigorish Viper’s operations is its exploitation of European football club sponsorships.
The syndicate secures these sponsorships using front companies or white label brands, then uses them to advertise illegal gambling sites in regions where gambling is prohibited, particularly in China.
This strategy has proven effective, with betting company logos appearing as often as 3,500 times during a single televised football match.
The scale of Vigorish Viper’s operations is staggering. The network operates over 170,000 active domain names, using sophisticated DNS CNAME traffic distribution systems to evade detection and law enforcement. This complex infrastructure makes it incredibly difficult to track and shut down the syndicate’s activities.
Renée Burton, vice president of threat intelligence at Infoblox, described Vigorish Viper as “one of the most sophisticated and important threats to digital security” discovered to date.
The syndicate’s use of multiple layers of traffic distribution systems, encrypted communications, and custom-developed applications makes their activities both elusive and remarkably resilient.
The cybercrime network’s reach extends beyond online gambling. Vigorish Viper has been linked to human trafficking operations, where individuals are lured with promises of high-paying jobs but are instead forced to support sports betting schemes and promote various scams, including cryptocurrency fraud.
According to a report by the Asian Racing Federation, trafficked workers in compounds in Southeast Asia are coerced into coordinating with commentators and broadcasters to promote betting websites during live sports events.
The financial impact of Vigorish Viper’s operations is enormous. The illegal global gambling economy it’s part of is estimated to be worth approximately $1.7 trillion annually. In Greater China alone, where gambling is almost entirely illegal, citizens are estimated to bet nearly $800 billion each year.
Infoblox’s investigation into Vigorish Viper began with the discovery of a single anomalous domain, kb[.]com, which hosts a gambling site named KB Sports.
This site uses Chinese nameservers and is geo-blocked to users in Europe but accessible from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau. Further analysis revealed a complex web of redirections, custom apps, and sophisticated defense mechanisms designed to avoid detection and scrutiny.
The syndicate’s operations also have offline components. There’s evidence linking Vigorish Viper to human trafficking, specifically involving forced labor in cyber fraud compounds in Cambodia. In these facilities, trafficked workers are reportedly forced to support betting operations and carry out other scams, such as pig butchering schemes.
The unmasking of Vigorish Viper highlights the intricate connections between online crime and physical crimes such as human trafficking, money laundering, and fraud. It also exposes the vulnerability of legitimate sports organizations to exploitation by criminal networks.
