China Plans to Expand Its Overseas Gambling Blacklist; Countries on the List Remain a Mystery

Article by : Helen Feb 2, 2021

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China’s fight against so-called ‘cross-border gambling’ – i.e., mainland Chinese going overseas to enjoy playing in a casino – is still on, and the Chinese government doesn’t seem to be 100% satisfied with the results so far. That could be why China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced on January 26 that the blacklist of the overseas gambling destinations will be expanded further, the first time since it was established back in August 2020.

“The second batch” of gambling destinations will be put together by China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Public Security, and the National Immigration Administration.

Although there is hardly anyone who hasn’t heard of China’s blacklist, the country’s government officials are yet to disclose which countries or cities are on the list. The most likely suspects are the destinations that already serve as gambling hubs for the mainland Chinese: Cambodia, the Philippines, Australia, Vietnam, Macau, etc.

There is still a bit of a veil of mystery around what kind of “travel restrictions” are imposed on those mainland Chinese who head out across the border to gamble anyway (and get caught in the process).

We know for sure that China also uses Big Data technology to pinpoint those who are planning on going abroad to enjoy gambling there. The first news reports about it came out in September last year. Once the government’s system identifies potential perpetrators, they are “prevented from leaving the country.”

There is an interesting coincidence: on the same day as the ministry announced the expansion of the blacklist, China’s Embassy in Cambodia put up an “important notice” warning mainland Chinese “to stay away from gambling.” The posted announcement calls gambling “a path of no return,” asks to “beware of high-paying recruitment traps,” and reminds that gambling-related “reports and surrenders are welcome.”

Why does China keep waging war against overseas gambling by expanding the blacklist? Well, according to the ministry (as quoted by Xinhua, China’s state-run news outlet), “some overseas cities have attracted Chinese tourists for their gambling businesses, disrupting China’s outbound travel market and endangering Chinese citizens’ lives and property.”

At the same time, analysts are more inclined to believe that the main reason behind this war has less to do with Chinese citizens’ wellbeing and more with the outflow of cash out of the country. In its turn, capital outflow can lead – and has led – to the yuan losing its purchasing power and China’s central bank eating through the foreign currency reserves.

The blacklist is not the only measure against overseas gambling in China. On March 1 this year, amendments to the country’s Criminal Law outlawing organizing any number of mainland Chinese to gamble overseas will enter into force. This is going to be another step in China’s crackdown on junket operators – companies that facilitate VIP players’ trips to places like Macau, the Philippines, Cambodia, and Australia.

In 2019, China has also called on the Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte to ban online gambling, but he declined the request. The Philippines legalized online casino activities in late 2016, and it’s been booming thanks to Chinese-speaking customers. According to a report by Aljazeera, most employees working in the offshore gambling operators in the country are Chinese nationals.

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