China emphasises on online lottery ban

The authorities have announced an amendment that brands all unauthorised lottery sales as illegal, starting next October 1.

China.- An announcement posted on the website of China’s Ministry of Finance has detailed a rule update, descrbed as an “amendment” that states all unauthorised lottery sales are illegal. The announcement was also endorsed by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the General Administration of Sport and will be effective from October 1 and beyond.

The amendment is clear about online lottery and brands “online sales of welfare lottery tickets and sports lottery tickets without authorisation” are illegal. The online segment has been banned ever since 2015, when the authorities determined it was forbidden to sale tickets for any lottery games as they highlighted the need to streamline government oversight and to curb fraud by unlicensed sellers.

The government also voiced its concerns over apps that are disguised behind different topics but still sell lottery tickets for games like ‘Hong Kong Mark Six’ ilegally. Back on August 20, Apple stated that it had been attempting to remove said apps from its store and prevent new ones from being added but it has no influence over those users that have already downloaded them.