China bets on help from Southeast Asia to stamp out illegal gambling
- Beijing is teaming up with its neighbours to crack down on the activity but there are barriers to cooperation
China has renewed warnings against illegal gambling by its citizens in Southeast Asia as it pushes for joint action with regional law enforcement agencies to crack down on the activity.
The most recent warning came last week when the Chinese embassy in Manila said that Chinese companies and individuals in the Philippines would be “punished in accordance with Chinese law” for any involvement in illegal gambling.
The embassy also urged Manila to do more to stamp out online gambling and protect Chinese citizens exploited by the industry.
Gambling is illegal in China so many Chinese nationals have set up online gambling websites offshore, particularly in Southeast Asia. But offshore illegal gambling was still punishable under Chinese law because many customers carried out the transactions in yuan, Economic Information Daily quoted Tan Qiugui, law professor at China University of Political Science and Law, as saying.
The Philippines is a big focus of China’s offshore efforts to clamp down on the practice. In April 2017, 55 people based in the Philippines were arrested in a joint crackdown by Chinese and Philippine police on cross-border illegal gambling, state news agency Xinhua reported.
Later that year, Chinese and Philippine police raided a gambling ring in Metro Manila and arrested almost 80 Chinese nationals who did not have legal immigration documents, according to Philippine media.