
Betting on the World Cup online just got harder in China
Apps suspend World Cup gambling features
China loves gambling, and gamblers love sports. So it shouldn’t be a huge surprise that gambling on the World Cup is a big deal in China.
But users noticed that the World Cup gambling functions were suddenly disabled this week, with notices saying either “system upgrade” or “sales suspended”.
None of the apps explicitly said that they had been banned, but Chinese media are pointing to a report by the Global Times as the reason. On Monday, the state media outlet slammed underground and online lotteries, calling them frauds.

But they might have a bigger problem to deal with: The matches themselves have been harder to predict than most tournaments, with plenty of unexpected results. And that’s leading to a string of videos on Weibo of Chinese gamblers taking their frustration out on their TVs -- or in this guy’s case, trying to:

China’s internet lights up as Russia crush Saudi Arabia in World Cup opener
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For more insights into China tech, sign up for our tech newsletters, subscribe to our Inside China Tech podcast, and download the comprehensive 2019 China Internet Report. Also roam China Tech City, an award-winning interactive digital map at our sister site Abacus.
