China investigated 30,000 cross-border gambling cases since 2020

According to local media reports, authorities in China have investigated more than 30,000 cross-border gambling cases since the start of last year.

China.- China’s Global Times has reported that from 2020 to October this year, Chinese authorities have investigated more than 30,000 cross-border gambling cases. It reported that more than 160,000 suspects have been detained. 

Cross-border online gambling and betting at brick-and-mortar casinos were both targets of the investigation. The Global Times did not provide a breakdown of the number of cases for each but said enforcement actions had led to the closure of 5,100 “gambling platforms” and 3,900 “illegal payment platforms” and underground banks. It said this has had the effect of “effectively curbing the rampant trend of cross-border gambling.”

At the beginning of this month, police dismantled a cross-border gambling operation that organised trips for Chinese citizens to gamble at Tigre de Cristal, located in the Primorye Gambling Zone in Russia. Some 142 suspects were identified and 75 prosecuted.

The security departments said they found RMB 1.6bn (US$250m) was being used for gambling. They identified 18 shelf companies, which they said were used for capital transfers. The police investigation also identified four “underground banks” and ten travel agencies allegedly providing services to gamblers.