Xinhua News Agency confirmed that authorities have been able to track down vast networks of illegal gambling organizations and intervene in cases that involved illegal gambling. A total of 2,600 online gambling platforms have been targeted and shut down while more than 1,100 casinos have been halted.

China Posts Good Results Against Cross-Border Gambling

Meanwhile, authorities have also dealt away with more than 2,500 payment platforms that worked as underground banks and facilitated payments to the aforementioned gambling platforms. The numbers aren’t too clear, but China has been working to actively curb the reach of gambling operations that targets mainlanders or attempt to drive cash towards offshore locations.

The statement also added that 1,200 tech support teams and 1,600 platforms promoting gambling (referring to affiliates in all likelihood) were similarly shut down by the authorities. The police spoke about having successfully acted against 19 major cases. However, authorities have kept mostly quiet about how many suspects or money have been apprehended and seized this way.

Moving into 2023, authorities are determined to interact even closer to ensure that they are able to shut down any remaining businesses. The exact scale of illegal and offshore gambling in China is not immediately known, but there is no shortage of such operations. China has been on a crusade to limit the reach of such platforms for the past several years.

The country said that its citizens often become the victim of fraud, exploitation, and kidnappings in overseas gambling locations. As to online gambling, China insisted that its citizens area losing their money to illegitimate platform. The country has put its charm offensive abroad, reaching out to Cambodia and the Philippines and urging them to ensure that their illegal gambling sectors are shuttered.

Further Discouragement of Gambling

Such approach has not always been welcomed by local politicians, but some lawmakers in the Philippines have taken notice. China has also urged customs and officers to dissuade people from traveling abroad for the purposes of gambling. Border officers now work actively to discourage people from crossing borders if the citizens are leaving the country to gamble.

This hardliner stance was reflected in the most recent regulatory changes in Macau, the only place where Chinese can gamble and where gambling is licensed. Macau is now actively seeking from concessionaires to bring in overseas gamblers and actively try and avoid taking money from Chinese gamblers.