Gambling in China

When it comes to gambling, China is a country of extraordinary diversity as for decades most forms of gambling have been illegal but despite this fact the country ranks number one in gambling revenues. This interesting fact can be put down to the size of the country, and if you put Hong Kong and Macau in the mix too.

In Article 303 of the 1997 revision of the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China it states that ‘Whoever, for the purpose of profit, gather people to engage in gambling, runs a gambling house, or makes gambling his profession shall be sentenced to a fixed term imprisonment of not more than three-year, criminal detention or public surveillance and shall also be fined.’

Although the above law is for those that would be involved in professional gambling only and not for the casual gambler, there have been several reports of casual gamblers being targeted and even arrested, and then fined.

Although there is a general prohibition on ‘gambling’ there are some games permitted, and these are termed ‘games of luck’. Sports betting on Lotteries fall into this category, with state-run lotteries being widely enjoyed by the Chinese population.

There are other legal forms of having a bet or wager in China, for instance, there are several variations of sports betting, and you can play Keno, scratchcards and play at various lottery terminals.

Online gambling is viewed and affected as the same rules as traditional gambling which means it is illegal for operators to have operate in the country or to provide gambling services in China. Even one of China’s oldest games, Mahjong is also illegal.

Any foreign gambling websites are regularly blocked by internet service providers, and locals are not allowed to gain access to gambling sites, and if they are caught doing so they face arrest. If Chinese players still want to gamble they are usually forced into using digital wallets, cryptocurrency and other alternative methods of paying for their games as those financial institutions which have a Chinese majority will block any transactions to and from online gambling sites.

As you can imagine because of the size of China and the amount of gambling revenue that is generated by the country there are many online operators that welcome Chinese players and go to great lengths to make them feel welcome.

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