Entertainment
What! Drug cartels using GTA V to hire mules for their drug business? Read full story
If you are a fan of the Grand Theft Auto (GTA) video game series, you will know that they are all about working for different drug cartels and gangs. You choose to work for a cartel and you get handsome rewards in form of in-game money. However, in recent times, GTA players will know how it is to work for drug cartels in a purely literal sense. Mexican drug cartels are apparently using video games such as GTA Online to recruit new members into their risky and deadly operations.
Cartels have traditionally relied on locals and word of mouth to expand their ranks, but with the advent of the digital age, it comes as no surprise that they’re turning to the internet to recruit new members. However, using video games to do the same is totally unexpected. After being approached by a man named ‘George’ on GTA Online, a woman was detained for attempting to smuggle 60kg of methamphetamine, according to Forbes. When the woman named Alyssa Navarro was playing the game, she got a message from George. They began an internet acquaintance that supposedly evolved into a Snapchat friendship.
He allegedly offered her a job driving an electronics shipment across the US-Mexico border. According to George, the ‘runner’ job would pay her up to $2,000 every trip. Despite her initial skepticism, she eventually accepted the deal and consented to drive a Jeep Cherokee to Mexico, where she claims she was supposed to hand over the keys to a man named Alfredo. However, the vehicle was intercepted by border authorities at Arizona where they found a meth shipment stashed within the petrol tank. She has subsequently pled not guilty to conspiracy to import and sell methamphetamine, as well as possession, according to Forbes.
Last year, authorities were shocked when they discovered a cartel was contacting children through mobile phone games to be part of their operations. In October, Ricardo Meja, Mexico’s assistant public safety secretary, stated that on the online game platform Free Fire, a ‘possible cartel recruiter’ had contacted three boys, aged 11 to 14.
Entertainment
Casino Days Reveal Internal Data on Most Popular Smartphones
International online casino Casino Days has published a report sharing their internal data on what types and brands of devices are used to play on the platform by users from the South Asian region.
Such aggregate data analyses allow the operator to optimise their website for the brands and models of devices people are actually using.
The insights gained through the research also help Casino Days tailor their services based on the better understanding of their clients and their needs.
Desktops and Tablets Lose the Battle vs Mobile
The primary data samples analysed by Casino Days reveal that mobile connections dominate the market in South Asia and are responsible for a whopping 96.6% of gaming sessions, while computers and tablets have negligible shares of 2.9% and 0.5% respectively.
The authors of the study point out that historically, playing online casino was exclusively done on computers, and attribute thе major shift to mobile that has unfolded over time to the wide spread of cheaper smartphones and mobile data plans in South Asia.
“Some of the reasons behind this massive difference in device type are affordability, technical advantages, as well as cheaper and more obtainable internet plans for mobiles than those for computers,” the researchers comment.
Xiaomi and Vivo Outperform Samsung, Apple Way Down in Rankings
Chinese brands Xiaomi and Vivo were used by 21.9% and 20.79% of Casino Days players from South Asia respectively, and together with the positioned in third place with a 18.1% share South Korean brand Samsung dominate the market among real money gamers in the region.
Cupertino, California-based Apple is way down in seventh with a user share of just 2.29%, overshadowed by Chinese brands Realme (11.43%), OPPO (11.23%), and OnePlus (4.07%).
Huawei is at the very bottom of the chart with a tiny share just below the single percent mark, trailing behind mobile devices by Motorola, Google, and Infinix.
The data on actual phone usage provided by Casino Days, even though limited to the gaming parts of the population of South Asia, paints a different picture from global statistics on smartphone shipments by vendors.
Apple and Samsung have been sharing the worldwide lead for over a decade, while current regional leader Xiaomi secured their third position globally just a couple of years ago.
Striking Android Dominance among South Asian Real Money Gaming Communities
The shifted market share patterns of the world’s top smartphone brands in South Asia observed by the Casino Days research paper reveal a striking dominance of Android devices at the expense of iOS-powered phones.
On the global level, Android enjoys a comfortable lead with a sizable 68.79% share which grows to nearly 79% when we look at the whole continent of Asia. The data on South Asian real money gaming communities suggests that Android’s dominance grows even higher and is north of the 90% mark.
Among the major factors behind these figures, the authors of the study point to the relative affordability of and greater availability of Android devices in the region, especially when manufactured locally in countries like India and Vietnam.
“And, with influencers and tech reviews putting emphasis on Android devices, the choice of mobile phone brand and OS becomes easy; Android has a much wider range of products and caters to the Asian online casino market in ways that Apple can’t due to technical limitations,” the researchers add.
The far better integration achieved by Google Pay compared to its counterpart Apple Pay has also played a crucial role in shaping the existing smartphone market trends.
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