China Apprehended 110,000 Suspects of Cross-Border Gambling

The Chinese government continues to ramp up its efforts to curb illegal cross-border gambling with 110,000 apprehended suspects so far.

China Has Investigate More Than 17,000 Cross-Border Gambling Cases

On Tuesday, the state-owned news agency Xinhua disclosed a report by the Chinese Ministry of Public Security, which stated that the Chinese police investigated more than 17,000 cross-border gambling cases since the launch of its nationwide operations to fight these types of crime in 2020.

The ministry said that the police arrested close to 110,000 suspects. According to the information, the national operations have reversed the increase in cross-border gambling, which has affected the country.

The ministry’s report was disclosed during a meeting on combating the issue and stated that “over 3,400 online gambling platforms, over 2,800 illegal payment platforms,” and underground banks got hit by the Chinese authorities from 2020 till the time of the report.

The achievements were recognized and praised by State Councilor and Minister of Public Security, Zhao Kezhi, who attended the meeting. He said that “the tough stance” against cross-border gambling has to continue with “the most stringent measures” possible.

Banned Passports and a Blacklist System 

China’s National Immigration Administration stated that it declared passports invalid for some people because they participated in cross-border gambling. The suspects are not allowed to leave the country for 3 years.

One day before the Chinese New Year, the government warned that it will ramp up its efforts against gambling trips. The authorities have implemented different measures to curb the rising numbers of cross-border gambling crimes.

Earlier this year, the Chinese government said it was adding more overseas destinations to its “blacklist system” regarding cross-border gambling tourism. It did not identify the places concerned

At the beginning of the year, the Chinese authorities stated that they would add other overseas destinations to their “blacklist system” concerning cross-border gambling tourism but didn’t elaborate further on the places. According to investment analysts, the blacklist system was a warning to gambling operations in Southeast Asia countries like Vietnam, the Philippines, Cambodia, and possibly Australia.

China’s criminal code that prohibits cross-border gambling and prosecutes anyone who assists it came into effect on March 1, 2021.

China Urges Those Involved to Turn Themselves In

In a statement on Thursday, the Public Security Department in Guangdong province encouraged those involved in cross-gambling to turn themselves in by April 30. In return, the government would consider more lenient measures.

The department commented on two cases of operating and promoting online gambling for which mainland China residents were recruited for jobs abroad and asked “the runaway suspects” to turn themselves in and released their names and ID numbers in its statement. One of the cases involved an operation that has been active since 2020 under the name “Sands Macao.”

It is a gambling group that used the name illegally. The group allegedly recruited residents from mainland China for customer service, online gambling games development, and attracting patrons from mainland China.