China’s embassy in Singapore has issued an advisory against its citizens gambling in the sovereign state’s casinos, warning such activity may violate Chinese law.
In a statement issued Monday, and first reported by Reuters, the embassy said it “solemnly reminds” citizens not to gamble at either of Singapore’s two casino resorts – Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa – and stresses that it may not be able to provide consular protections to those seen breaking the law.
“Even if overseas casinos are legally opened, cross-border gambling by Chinese citizens is suspected of violating the laws of our country,” the statement read.
Mainland China has made no secret of its efforts to crack down on what it calls cross-border gambling in recent years, with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism having in 2019 announced it had compiled a “blacklist” of overseas tourist destinations it said were disrupting the nation’s outbound tourism market by opening casinos targeting mainland Chinese customers.
The Ministry promised at the time to impose travel restrictions on Chinese citizens going to overseas cities and scenic spots named on the blacklist, although none of those cities or spots have been made public. The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines also refuted reports in 2022 that the Philippines was on the blacklist.
Nevertheless, the Chinese embassies in the Philippines, South Korea and Sri Lanka have all issued advisories warning citizens of casino gambling.
Monday’s statement from Chinese embassy in Singapore added, “Cross-border gambling may also bring risks such as fraud, money laundering, kidnapping, detention, trafficking, and smuggling.”
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