Chinese authorities continue cracking down on illegal gambling operations, especially in the Guangdong province. The Ministry of Public Security recently published a report, detailing its measures to curb illegal gambling in the country till September 30, 2020.

Cross-border gambling links

According to Chinese authorities, they were able to identify transactions worth $150 billion linked to cross-border gambling. The authorities are against gambling and have been trying to curb this practice. They have actively tried to stop overseas wagering in the country, a lot of which thrived with the help of digital currencies. It also arrested 76 individuals in a recent bust, who were facilitating transactions to more than 120 foreign gambling websites.

China doesn’t want citizens to physically leave the country for gambling. In August, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism introduced a “blacklist system” for high-risk destinations associated with this measure. The Ministry said that these destinations had a direct risk to the personal safety and security of property for Chinese citizens. The ministry did not provide details for the directive but it is unlikely to be applied to Macau.

Overseas gambling rush

Casino resort kidnappings in Southeast Asia, particularly Cambodia and the Philippines are bothering authorities. Rich Chinese citizens are being lured away to exotic destinations where they are trapped and help in exchange for ransom. Between 2017 and mid-2019, about 55 Chinese were kidnapped. Most of them were lured via gambling. The authorities are now working on a new law that will criminalize any attempts for organizing and soliciting wagering offshore.

Official data from the Ministry of Public Security suggests that 60,000 suspects were arrested in related to 8,800 cases investigated by them till September 30, 2020. During this time, they busted 1,400 operations offering illegal gambling and arrested 590 overseas nationals in assistance with foreign police authorities.

Crackdowns were focused on the Guangdong region, in Dongguan, Huizhou, Zhanjiang, and Guangzhou. The Ministry is still struggling to match pace with criminals who quickly set up their operations.