The region has a history of gambling on traditional Chinese games. Gambling in Macau now primarily takes place in Western-style casinos; in 2007, Macau overtook the Las Vegas Strip in gaming revenues. As of 2016, 38 casinos operate in Macau, and the region's annual gambling revenues exceed US$27.9 billion. Offshore gambling. Lets take a look at Guangzhou - a city of 15 million people famous for its Canton Fair. China is very modern and probably not what you might expect. Macao, the gambling capital of the world and the only legal casino city in China, is known for junkets, which provide wealthy clients with everything from transportation to loans for betting.
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- China Gambling City
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- China Casino City
- China Casino City
Gambling in China is illegal under Chinese law[1] and has been officially outlawed since the Communist Party took power in 1949.[2] Any form of gambling by Chinese citizens, including online-gambling, gambling overseas, opening casinos overseas to attract citizens of China as primary customers, is considered illegal.[3] In practice however, Chinese citizens participate in state-run lotteries, regularly travel to legal gambling centers overseas or in the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau and access gaming through offshore based proxy betting and online gambling companies.
Mainland China[edit]
The Chinese government operates two lotteries: the Welfare Lottery and the Sports Lottery set up in 1987 and 1994 respectively. The Chinese government does not legally consider the lotteries a form of gambling.[4] Illegal gambling in China remains common, including unofficial lotteries, clandestine casinos, and betting in games such as mahjong and various card games. In 2010, The Daily Telegraph (UK) reported that an estimated one trillion yuan are wagered in illegal gambling every year in China. Problem gambling exists in the country, and may be more prevalent than in countries with legalized gambling.[1]Online gambling is another outlet for illegal gambling in the country.[4]
Various attempts have been made to establish legal casinos in mainland China, although these have been unsuccessful.
In June 2018, the Chinese Government banned all online poker applications. App stores had to remove all poker related applications, and the promotion of poker in general via all social media channels in China (Wechat, Weibo) became forbidden.[5]
Hong Kong[edit]
While some aspects of mainland Chinese law apply in Hong Kong, certain forms of gambling are legal and regulated in Hong Kong. The Law of Hong Kong is based on English common law, having been a British territory until 1997. Gambling in Hong Kong has been regulated since 1977.[6] The Hong Kong Jockey Club organizes much of the legal betting in the region.
Macau[edit]
Gambling in Macau has been legal since the 1850s, when it was a Portuguese colony. The region has a history of gambling on traditional Chinese games. Gambling in Macau now primarily takes place in Western-style casinos; in 2007, Macau overtook the Las Vegas Strip in gaming revenues. As of 2016,[7] 38 casinos operate in Macau, and the region's annual gambling revenues exceed US$27.9 billion.[8]
Offshore gambling[edit]
Legal restrictions on onshore gambling in Mainland China have contributed to the growth of overseas and online gambling sites that cater to Chinese nationals. Integrated gaming resorts in Singapore, Australia, Korea, Vietnam and the Philippines welcome growing numbers of Chinese tourists.
Proxy betting[edit]
As in person visits to offshore gambling venues can be both time consuming and attract the attention of law enforcement, proxy betting has grown in popularity, especially for VIP clients wishing to discretely place high stakes bets. In proxy betting, clients communicate with staffers wearing headsets at baccarat tables in offshore casinos. Proxy betting was outlawed in Macau in 2016 and has never been permitted in Australia or Singapore casinos, but now accounts for 40 percent of the $1 billion VIP gaming market in the Philippines, according to brokerage CICC.[9]
Online gambling[edit]
Online gambling in Mainland China remains illegal, however internet traffic routed via VPNs, underground banking networks and payment platforms enable Mainland Chinese customers to access and remit funds to online gaming sites. According to 2019 estimates published in Economic Information Daily, an affiliate of state-owned news agency Xinhua, the annual amount bet through online gambling in the Mainland is more than one trillion yuan (US$145 billion), equivalent to nearly twice the annual income of China’s officially sanctioned lotteries.[10]
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In the Philippines alone, where Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) can register and legally operate, over a three year period from 2016 at least 100,000 Chinese nationals were estimated to have moved to Manila to work for online gambling operators as marketing agents, tech support specialists and IT engineers to serve Mandarin-speaking clientele.[11] To side step restrictions on direct marketing of online gambling in Mainland Chinese print or social media, many online gaming sites seeking to attract Chinese customers have become shirt sponsors for English Premier League football teams. Dafabet’s sponsorship of Fulham FC and W88’s sponsorship of Wolverhampton Wanderers are just two examples of this trend.
Large betting sites like Bet365, BetPat & WilliamHill create mirror sites to bypass local controls as seen a list of how it works here SportsTalk.org in the Guardian it was commented at length that Chinese users can face jail.
See also[edit]
China Gambling City
References[edit]
- ^ abEimer, David (9 January 2010). 'China's secret gambling problem'. Daily Telegraph. Shenyang. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
- ^'Rien ne va plus'. The Economist. 432 (9158): 25. 31 August 2019.
- ^'Remarks by Chinese Embassy Spokesperson on Issues of Chinese Citizens concerning Gambling in the Philippines'. Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Republic of the Philippines. 8 August 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
- ^ abKalenyuk, Mary (7 November 2013). 'The bets are on for gambling in China'. The World of Chinese. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
- ^'Crackdown on online poker applications in China - Somuchpoker'. somuchpoker.com. Retrieved 2018-06-11.
- ^Deans, Rob (2001). 'Online Gambling: Changes to Hong Kong's Gambling Legislation'. Gaming Law Review. Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.5 (6): 555–560. doi:10.1089/109218801753336166.
- ^2016 Wynn 10-K
- ^'Macau Gaming Summary'. University of Nevada, Las Vegas Center for Gaming Research. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
- ^'China targets PH in offshore gambling crackdown'. Manila Bulletin. Bloomberg. 8 August 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
- ^Master, Farah (9 July 2019). 'Chinese state media target Macau's Suncity in online gambling report'. Reuters. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
- ^Dancel, Raul (20 July 2019). 'Loan Sharks Feed Off Philippine Casino Boom'. The Straits Times. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
Legal restrictions on onshore gambling in Mainland China have contributed to the growth of overseas and online gambling sites that cater to Chinese nationals. Integrated gaming resorts in Singapore, Australia, Korea, Vietnam and the Philippines welcome growing numbers of Chinese tourists.
Proxy betting[edit]
As in person visits to offshore gambling venues can be both time consuming and attract the attention of law enforcement, proxy betting has grown in popularity, especially for VIP clients wishing to discretely place high stakes bets. In proxy betting, clients communicate with staffers wearing headsets at baccarat tables in offshore casinos. Proxy betting was outlawed in Macau in 2016 and has never been permitted in Australia or Singapore casinos, but now accounts for 40 percent of the $1 billion VIP gaming market in the Philippines, according to brokerage CICC.[9]
Online gambling[edit]
Online gambling in Mainland China remains illegal, however internet traffic routed via VPNs, underground banking networks and payment platforms enable Mainland Chinese customers to access and remit funds to online gaming sites. According to 2019 estimates published in Economic Information Daily, an affiliate of state-owned news agency Xinhua, the annual amount bet through online gambling in the Mainland is more than one trillion yuan (US$145 billion), equivalent to nearly twice the annual income of China’s officially sanctioned lotteries.[10]
Casino City Casino Guide
In the Philippines alone, where Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) can register and legally operate, over a three year period from 2016 at least 100,000 Chinese nationals were estimated to have moved to Manila to work for online gambling operators as marketing agents, tech support specialists and IT engineers to serve Mandarin-speaking clientele.[11] To side step restrictions on direct marketing of online gambling in Mainland Chinese print or social media, many online gaming sites seeking to attract Chinese customers have become shirt sponsors for English Premier League football teams. Dafabet’s sponsorship of Fulham FC and W88’s sponsorship of Wolverhampton Wanderers are just two examples of this trend.
Large betting sites like Bet365, BetPat & WilliamHill create mirror sites to bypass local controls as seen a list of how it works here SportsTalk.org in the Guardian it was commented at length that Chinese users can face jail.
See also[edit]
China Gambling City
References[edit]
- ^ abEimer, David (9 January 2010). 'China's secret gambling problem'. Daily Telegraph. Shenyang. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
- ^'Rien ne va plus'. The Economist. 432 (9158): 25. 31 August 2019.
- ^'Remarks by Chinese Embassy Spokesperson on Issues of Chinese Citizens concerning Gambling in the Philippines'. Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Republic of the Philippines. 8 August 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
- ^ abKalenyuk, Mary (7 November 2013). 'The bets are on for gambling in China'. The World of Chinese. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
- ^'Crackdown on online poker applications in China - Somuchpoker'. somuchpoker.com. Retrieved 2018-06-11.
- ^Deans, Rob (2001). 'Online Gambling: Changes to Hong Kong's Gambling Legislation'. Gaming Law Review. Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.5 (6): 555–560. doi:10.1089/109218801753336166.
- ^2016 Wynn 10-K
- ^'Macau Gaming Summary'. University of Nevada, Las Vegas Center for Gaming Research. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
- ^'China targets PH in offshore gambling crackdown'. Manila Bulletin. Bloomberg. 8 August 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
- ^Master, Farah (9 July 2019). 'Chinese state media target Macau's Suncity in online gambling report'. Reuters. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
- ^Dancel, Raul (20 July 2019). 'Loan Sharks Feed Off Philippine Casino Boom'. The Straits Times. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
External links[edit]
- China Sports Lottery official website(in Chinese)
The Kings Romans Casino sits across the Mekong River on the Laos side, a gaudy beacon of civilisation in what is otherwise an empty stretch of green. We are in the Thai portion of the Golden Triangle, the historic land of opium production where Burma and Laos meet, and no one will tell us how to get across the river. We ask three people, each of which smiles and uses a suspiciously identical phrase: “Casino? No. Only Laos shopping.”
We finally made it across the river about half an hour before the crossing was supposed to close, and only by invoking the name of a contact in far away Bangkok. We were dropped off at the speedboat pier and driven to one of several hotel buildings, which together can accommodate up to five hundred guests. At night, the bars and hotel buildings shine with collections of coloured bulbs, complementing the large multi-coloured crown that tops the dome of the casino building itself. The flashiness of the casino is a big change from the old nighttime scene in the area. As the manager who accompanied us said, “before there was nothing in Laos; there were no lights at night.”
Construction of the pompous sounding Kings Romans started four years ago with a price tag of about 500 million US dollars, including the installation of a 46 km road from the casino to the Laos town of Huay Xai further down the Mekong River (opposite Chiang Khong on the Thai side). According to the manager, there were plenty of challenges, as labourers and materials for the building had to be transported from China into the relatively undeveloped region. The casino is one of several projects located in an area in northern Laos called the Special Economic Zone, to which the government has granted Chinese companies development rights with a 99-year lease. The Kings Romans Group controls 10,000 hectares of that region. At the end of that period, all of the Chinese-owned properties in the area will be turned over to the Laos authorities.
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Meanwhile, the casino claims they are seeing about ten thousand guests per month, with many from China, Thailand, Europe, and the United States. However, during our visit we appeared to be the only foreigners in sight, certainly quite daunting at times. It is said to be similar to the casinos found in China’s Macau special administrative region (gambling is illegal in the rest of China). Although the identities of the group’s funders are not public, we were told the group has substantial experience in casino management, including connections in Macau, Burma’s Mongla gambling region, and Boten on the China-Laos border. The manager pointed out that “there are other casinos in Laos, but they are much smaller and not as good.” The company has its own security force to patrol the area. The emphasis on security hopes to prevent the serious problems (including allegations of violence and kidnapping) which plagued the gambling area at Boten.
The complex does seem rather well controlled. There is no drinking or picture-taking allowed inside the casino, and entrances are guarded by security staff and metal detectors. Unlike the bling and glam of Vegas, gambling is serious business here. Inside, huge amounts of money move around under standard casino video surveillance. A live pianist plays a baby grand on a red velvet stage. The interior design is a fusion of grandiose styles: chunky Renaissance murals, sweeping staircases, and huge chandeliers. We watched in unpaid-intern horror as one man blithely bet 625 baht over and over again at a slot machine and another played with a stack of 10,000 yuan card chips. Everywhere there are servers offering water, tea, and coffee, and smoking is allowed indoors.
China Casino Poker
The massive complex is supported by a staff of 4-5 thousand people, many of whom live in large dorm-like apartments a little outside of the main area. Some of the staff are from the seven villages in the area, and some commute to work by motorbike. Others have come to work in the area from Thailand, Russia, and Nepal. The casino’s management hopes that the project will benefit local people by providing jobs and opportunities for founding small businesses. Already, the manager told us, the area has improved vastly: “before it was an opium and drug businesses, maybe an only ten years before…there were no roads, no electricity, no water…Laos is developing and it is good for them.”
China Casino City
The manager showed us a new village the company built for locals (called Ban Kong), a set of 120 modern buildings, large and identical and yellow, built on stilts. Construction on the complex is slated to continue indefinitely. The group is looking for more partners, and plans on putting in a golf course, a museum, more 4-star hotels, and an airport. They hope to develop a network of branches and agents in nearby cities, including Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai. “In twenty years, we’re planning on building a city here,” said the manager, “This is only a start.”
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