On the day of April 23, a news item on the hot search list attracted widespread attention - "a small group" was confirmed to have been arrested. This incident is closely linked to the case of Chen Shaojie, the founder and CEO of the Douyu live broadcast platform, who is suspected of opening a casino, and has attracted great public attention.
"A small group", a well-known anchor on the Douyu platform, is loved by fans for his unique personality and humorous words. Although she always wears a mask during her live broadcast and does not show her true face, this has not affected her popularity. With more than 26 million betta fans and nearly 37 million Douyin fans, she has shown strong commercial value and is known as the "first sister of betta".
However, in January of this year, she suddenly announced that she would stop broadcasting, leaving many fans confused. It wasn't until April 23 that the truth was revealed. According to people familiar with the matter, she was suspected of large gambling, with a case value of up to 48 million yuan, and the case is inextricably linked to Chen Shaojie's case. As soon as the news came out, it immediately caused an uproar in the live broadcast circle and fan circle.
It is worth mentioning that although "a small group" was arrested for gambling, her navigation voice pack on the AutoNavi map is still loved by the majority of users, with more than 10 million uses. However, with the news of her involvement in gambling, many users began to worry about whether this voice pack would be taken off the shelves.
At the same time, Chen Shaojie, the founder and CEO of the Douyu live broadcast platform, was also arrested in accordance with the law on suspicion of opening a casino, which undoubtedly brought a heavy blow to Douyu live broadcast. After Chen Shaojie was arrested, the reputation and revenue of Douyu Live were affected. Although Douyu Live said that the company was operating normally, the loss of paying users and the decline in revenue were indisputable facts.
Starting from the end of 2023, Douyu's big-name Internet celebrity anchors have stopped broadcasting, including "Hearthstone", known as "Hearthstone", and well-known game anchors "PDD" and "Da Sima". Some anchors such as "Zhang Daxian" and "Xu Xu Baby" chose to leave Douyu and settle in other platforms such as Douyin to continue live broadcasting.
On April 23, in addition to the news of the arrest of "a small group", there was also news that Chen Shaojie had been released on bail pending trial. However, as of now, the relevant departments have not given a clear response to the specific details of this news.
For the gambling cases involved in "a small group" and Chen Shaojie, according to the relevant provisions of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, they may face severe criminal penalties. If convicted of gambling in a small group, she could face three to 10 years in prison. As for Chen Shaojie, although he has been released on bail pending trial, this does not prevent him from being criminally punished in the later stage. The final verdict shall be made by the people's court in accordance with law after the judicial organs have ascertained the facts of the crime.