Two men have been sentenced to jail for taking bets on cricket fighting at a mahjong parlor in Xuhui district, the local court said Monday.

The defendants, surnamed Tang and Chen, were charged with running an illegal gambling operation, according to a press release from Xuhui District People's Court.

Tang and Chen began organizing the daily cricket fights at a mahjong and chess room on Luoxiu Road last September. The fights lasted from 8 pm to 1 am the next morning. They oversaw the betting on the fights and took 5 percent of the gambling earnings each night, the court said.

Later in September, they hired the third defendant in the case, surnamed Yuan, to help manage the operation.

Police raided the parlor on October 22 and rounded up more than 70 gamblers, who were given administrative punishment, the court said. Officers found that the gamblers had placed 15,000 yuan ($2,460) in bets at the time of the raid. The three defendants had earned about 900 yuan that night.

The court sentenced Tang to seven months in jail and Chen to six months in jail.

It gave Yuan a three-month suspended sentence, allowing him to serve probation instead of jail time.

The court said most of the gamblers were retirees who found out about the cricket fights from other gamblers. Because crickets only live for about 100 days, cricket fighting usually only takes place during the autumn months.

Global Times