• Subscribe
  • Magazines
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
Saturday 9 August 2025
  • zh-hant 中文
  • ja 日本語
  • en English
IAG
Advertisement
  • Newsfeed
  • Mag Articles
  • Video
  • Opinion
  • Tags
  • Regional
    • Africa
    • Australia
    • Cambodia
    • China
    • CNMI
    • Europe
    • Hong Kong
    • India
    • Japan
    • Laos
    • Latin America
    • Malaysia
    • Macau
    • Nepal
    • New Zealand
    • North America
    • North Korea
    • Philippines
    • Russia
    • Singapore
    • South Korea
    • Sri Lanka
    • Thailand
    • UAE
    • Vietnam
  • Events
  • Contributors
  • SUBSCRIBE FREE
No Result
View All Result
IAG
  • Newsfeed
  • Mag Articles
  • Video
  • Opinion
  • Tags
  • Regional
    • Africa
    • Australia
    • Cambodia
    • China
    • CNMI
    • Europe
    • Hong Kong
    • India
    • Japan
    • Laos
    • Latin America
    • Malaysia
    • Macau
    • Nepal
    • New Zealand
    • North America
    • North Korea
    • Philippines
    • Russia
    • Singapore
    • South Korea
    • Sri Lanka
    • Thailand
    • UAE
    • Vietnam
  • Events
  • Contributors
  • SUBSCRIBE FREE
No Result
View All Result
IAG
No Result
View All Result

Here comes the bogeyman

Newsdesk by Newsdesk
Thu 18 Jun 2009 at 16:00
2
SHARES
53
VIEWS
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

The latest reports about enforcement action against betting agents in China are if anything an argument for official recognition of the trade rather than an argument for pushing the sector further underground.

Every time China’s official news agency Xinhua reports on an gambling agent network or unlicensed gaming scheme being broken up on the Mainland it only serves to act as a reminder that rich or poor, many Chinese people love gambling and fully intend to get their entertainment one way or another.

The latest enforcement action involved not only a VIP agent business but also five other schemes linking Chinese gamblers with online casinos and sports betting books outside China. Police in Hubei, central China, say the six operations had turnover worth 50 billion yuan (USD7 billion) spread over four years. Police have so far managed to recover less than two percent of that (800 million yuan) by freezing bank accounts operated by the alleged organisers.

A total of 27 people have so far been jailed in connection with the schemes and another 30 are expected to appear in court later this month, according to Xinhua.

The method allegedly used to facilitate the gambling is standard procedure in China—namely the creation of lines of credit through personal contact with players, plus collection of debts by an army of local foot soldiers.

A spokesman for the local public security bureau in Hubei used the phrase ‘money laundering’ in a public statement to describe the suspects’ activities. It’s the sort of phrase guaranteed to get the outside world’s attention and can be politically useful for indicating that China is active in dealing with international financial crime. US law enforcement authorities have an almost romantic attachment to the notion that money laundering is the cause of every evil act in the modern world. Not only does this risk tipping over into intellectual laziness, it also invites accusations of hypocrisy.

When someone uses a front company or shell bank to do something the US doesn’t like, it’s money laundering. When the Central Intelligence Agency or a proxy uses front companies to divert funds or weapons to pro-US groups in developing countries as occurred in the Iran Contra scandal in the 1980s, that’s covert operations in the cause of freedom.

Arguably all posturing and hand wringing about money laundering achieves in the context of the Asian casino industry is the criminalisation of betting agents. It’s certainly not a particularly helpful phrase if China is seeking a rational and long-term way to deal with her citizens’ love affair with gambling. This involves thinking about how to manage the public demand for gambling and make it work in the public interest through regulation and taxation. That’s a much harder problem to tackle than busting betting agents.

RelatedPosts

Singapore’s Changi Airport now Asia’s busiest airport as Hong Kong falls further behind

Singapore’s Changi Airport says passenger traffic from China up almost 16% in 2Q25

Wed 23 Jul 2025 at 05:55
Starr Xian: Human Factor

China’s GDP grows 5.3% in first half of 2025, in line with expectations

Tue 15 Jul 2025 at 12:30
Macau ranks first in China Tourism Academy’s “2024 Chinese Travellers Outbound Satisfaction Top 10 Destinations”

Macau ranks first in China Tourism Academy’s “2024 Chinese Travellers Outbound Satisfaction Top 10 Destinations”

Sun 29 Jun 2025 at 09:57
Falling Thailand visitor numbers linked to safety concerns as IR operators say it’s time to reboot tourism offering

Falling Thailand visitor numbers linked to safety concerns as IR operators say it’s time to reboot tourism offering

Thu 12 Jun 2025 at 16:40
Load More
Tags: China
Share1Share
Newsdesk

Newsdesk

The IAG Newsdesk team comprises some of the most experienced journalists in the Asian gaming industry. Offering a broad range of expertise, their decades of combined know-how spans multiple countries across a variety of topics.

Current Issue

Editorial – Better late than never

Editorial – Better late than never

by Ben Blaschke
Thu 31 Jul 2025 at 07:13

Inside Asian Gaming has in recent weeks been hearing increasing chatter around a possible move by Vietnamese authorities to introduce...

Angel’s Yasushi Shigeta

Angel’s Yasushi Shigeta

by Ben Blaschke
Thu 31 Jul 2025 at 07:08

Yasushi Shigeta, Chairman and owner of one of the world’s largest gaming industry suppliers, Angel Group, sits down with Inside...

The Magic Number

The Magic Number

by David Bonnet
Thu 31 Jul 2025 at 06:41

In this in-depth deep dive into the evolution of the Asian gaming landscape, David Bonnet argues that many regional jurisdictions...

Rashid Suliman – A road well traveled

Rashid Suliman – A road well traveled

by Ben Blaschke
Thu 31 Jul 2025 at 02:45

Rashid Suliman, Vice President of Global Gaming Asia-Pacific for casino solutions provider TransAct Technologies, provides some insight into his unique...

Evolution Asia
Your browser does not support HTML5 video.
Aristocrat
GLI
Nustar
SABA
Mindslot
Solaire
Hann
Tecnet
HKUST
NWR

Related Posts

Ministry says foreign workers comprised majority of 2,000 laid-off RWS workers

JP Morgan highlights “strikingly large” gap between Singapore’s two IRs as Resorts World Sentosa falls to all-time low market share

by Ben Blaschke
Sat 9 Aug 2025 at 10:04

Investment bank JP Morgan on Friday whacked Singapore’s Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) for what he described as a “strikingly large” gap in market share and profit share in the three months to 30 June 2025. It also noted that the...

Licensed online operators respond to regulatory push by forming PlaySafe Alliance of the Philippines

Licensed online operators respond to regulatory push by forming PlaySafe Alliance of the Philippines

by Newsdesk
Sat 9 Aug 2025 at 10:01

A group of 19 licensed online gaming operators in the Philippines have come together to form the PlaySafe Alliance of the Philippines – a unified industry association they say is committed to responsible gaming, regulatory compliance, consumer protection and combatting...

IGT to unveil comprehensive game portfolio, new jackpots at Australasian Gaming Expo

IGT to unveil comprehensive game portfolio, new jackpots at Australasian Gaming Expo

by Newsdesk
Fri 8 Aug 2025 at 12:56

IGT will showcase 10 new game families as well as a revamped jackpot strategy for the local ANZ market at the upcoming Australasian Gaming Expo (AGE) taking place at ICC Sydney from 12 to 14 August 2025. This will also...

Large-scale events center at Wynn Palace part of US$750 million worth of Macau project investments planned by Wynn through end-2026

Large-scale events center at Wynn Palace part of US$750 million worth of Macau project investments planned by Wynn through end-2026

by Ben Blaschke
Fri 8 Aug 2025 at 05:54

Wynn Macau Ltd is looking to spend up to US$750 million through the end of 2026 on a series of upgrade and expansion projects at its Macau resorts, including development of a new large-scale events center at Wynn Palace. The...

Your browser does not support the video tag.


IAG

© 2005-2025
Inside Asian Gaming.
All rights reserved.

  • SUBSCRIBE FREE
  • NEWSFEED
  • MAG ARTICLES
  • VIDEO
  • OPINION
  • TAGS
  • REGIONAL
  • EVENTS
  • CONSULTING
  • CONTRIBUTORS
  • MAGAZINES
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • ADVERTISE

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

No Result
View All Result
  • Subscribe
  • Newsfeed
  • Mag Articles
  • Video
  • Opinion
  • Tags
  • Regional
  • Events
  • Contributors
  • Magazines
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • About
  • Home for G2E Asia

© 2005-2025
Inside Asian Gaming.
All rights reserved.

  • English