Towards the fight against illegal gambling, the Ministry of Public Security informed that from 2024 to the end of matches, the elimination of over 4500 online gaming sites and the checking of 73000 cross-border gambling cases was done. Several successful operations have put more than 11,000 suspects behind bars and smothered 45 major cross-border gambling gangs. A forceful effort by the Chinese government to stamp out casinos on both physical and online platforms in China, which target Chinese citizens, is manifested in this inexorable pace of the government’s actions.
The Ministry’s announcement reported the completion of a three-year investigation during which one of the major intended-to-fail gambling syndicates, in this case, the DC Group, was ousted from the Philippines for enticing Chinese players. The group included the hiring of Chinese guys to act as the middlemen for the gambling ads and to come up with other policing experiences that reveal how intricate the outrageous gambling crossings really are. Choosing not only indirect amplification but also the deconstruction of the infrastructure that serves illegal activities has also been crucial.
Chinese authorities have used the whole arsenal of instruments, including raids, to destroy gambling networks associated with gambling entities abroad and burst the underground financial pipelines. The government has also put a modern rating system in place for such foreign gambling states, which are pumped with Chinese visits discouraging the citizens from gambling abroad. These practices prove that China is serious about the issue by adopting a multi-prong approach, that is, demand reduction and supply-side control.
In a major step taken to fight fraud and gambling-related crimes, the Chinese government organized two repatriation operations in April and November 2024, which resulted in the return of more than 1,200 Chinese citizens from Cambodia who were described as involved in the abovementioned businesses. In this move, the government not only demonstrates how robust its entanglement is but also shows its readiness to go after citizens who are dealing in illegal activities abroad. Lin Jian, the representative of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stressed that Beijing would like to work closely with the neighboring countries and thus develop law enforcement to fight against online gambling and telecom fraud.
The Public Security Department has endorsed public education as a key measure in the fight against illegal gambling. Different departments all over the country will make use of mass media and other educational methods to let the public know about the negative aspects of gambling that they tend to ignore. Authorities will help people safeguard themselves against such crimes by giving them a clear understanding of the schemes that are being employed in those offenses. The teaching of the techniques regards the citizens from the perspective of the need for public awareness, knowledge, and skills to participate in antiludic activities. By putting the latest methods into practice, the state’s anti-gambling policy will be effectively implemented.
While China is stepping up its campaign against illegal gambling, the world’s largest gambling hub, Macau is also dealing with some issues of its own. During January, Macau’s gaming revenue shrank by 5.6 per cent, which is below the forecasts and is a piece of evidence that the weak consumer confidence in China is holding back the recovery of the gambling sector. The gross revenue registered for January reached 18.25 billion patacas ($2.3 billion), marking a 27% decline compared to the non-pandemic level in 2019. Moreover, the decrease in gaming income in Macau results in questioning the survival of the sector in the face of the country’s decelerated economic growth.
The upcoming year will not be an easy one for Macau, but the hope is that the process of economic diversification will not be interrupted. To make tourism more accessible to people and to make it less dependent on gambling, the town will hold more concerts, sports events, and conferences. Despite this positive trend, the main fear of gambling operators regarding the regulators is the lack of consistency in policy and regulations. The central authorities in Beijing are not unconcerned about the gambling problem, so they want to cut it in order to reduce money going out from the Mainland. The new head of the government, Sam Hou Fai, spoke out before about the dangerous overuse of a gambling-centered economy, which might mean that the government wants to change its economic focus.
China is firm in its strong position that not only it does not allow gambling, but it also encourages neighboring countries to do the same. In Thailand, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and the two leaders touched on the contentious issue of a casino-entertainment complex project. Xi was of the view that such kind of measures were bringing more problems for society as he pointed out the fact that this issue was regional and that the gambling policy of China indirectly affected its neighboring states.
The relentless fight against illegal gambling in China, together with the troubles encountered by legal gambling museums such as Macau, paints a picture of the gambling industry in East Asia that is full of ups and downs. Since these countries are aiming at achieving a perfect balance of economic benefits versus social problems, banning or allowing gambling seems to be the best solution for governments in China and its neighboring countries at the moment. What is crystal clear is that the determination of the Chinese government to stop these activities will never weaken, and its relevancy to the regional gambling policies is sure to be long-term.
