The report says the group operated from a rented five-storey house used during the tournament. Police reportedly linked the network to more than US$300 million in World Cup wagers and alleged that it had collected almost NT$10 billion in bets.
Those figures describe the scale of betting activity, not necessarily profit. That distinction matters: a large betting turnover can involve repeated stakes, multiple accounts and money moving through several layers of an operation.
The seizure of computers, mobile phones and handwritten records could prove more important than the cash itself. Digital devices and ledgers may help investigators trace customers, payment routes and links to organisers beyond the Tainan property.
Taiwan did not qualify for the tournament, yet World Cup matches still provided the group with a large potential audience. Major tournaments concentrate attention into a short period, making them attractive to illegal operators seeking rapid betting volume.
The report says five of the eight detained people had travelled from Hong Kong and Macau on tourist visas. Police allege they entered Taiwan to work on the betting operation, although the claims remain part of an ongoing case rather than established court findings.
The incident also underlines how online betting can be organised away from traditional gambling venues. A single house, connected devices and mobile communications can support a network handling wagers from a much wider area.
The next storyline will be whether investigators uncover further participants, financial channels or related operations. As the next major football tournament approaches, authorities will face renewed pressure to disrupt illegal markets before the first match begins.