China: 32,000 arrested over cross-border gambling in H1

The arrests were made for obstructing national border control.

China.- China’s National Immigration Administration has announced that 32,000 people were arrested in 16,000 cases of obstructing national border control in the first six months of the year.

Zhang Ning, a spokesperson for the immigration administration, said foreign and domestic criminal syndicates were collaborating to facilitate the unlawful transport of Chinese nationals for gambling and telecom fraud purposes.

According to Asian Gaming Brief, authorities reported that 464,000 cases related to telecom fraud and online gambling were resolved last year.

In 2020, China established a blacklist of destinations to which cross-border transfers are restricted.

The blacklist is compiled by multiple departments, including the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security. In March 2021, China’s revised Criminal Law made it illegal to assist cross-border gambling.

Last year, Chinese authorities signed cooperation agreements with countries in the region to combat online and cross-border gambling