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China’s Embassy in Cambodia Reminds Chinese Nationals to “Stay Away from Gambling”

Article by : Helen Feb 3, 2021

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Updated: Mar 24, 2023

In an attempt to prevent capital outflow from the country, China does everything in its power to stop gamblers from traveling abroad. In addition to the destination blacklist and using Big Data to prevent potential gamblers from leaving China, the country’s diplomats in Cambodia reminded its compatriots that they should “stay away from gambling” in a notice published on January 26.

According to China’s embassy in Cambodia, the warning was issued because “there have been a series of vicious violence cases involving Chinese citizens in Cambodia, and several people have lost their lives as a result.”

The Chinese officials called gambling “the road of no return” and said that those who gamble will get “entangled in gambling debts” and see “their families […] destroyed”. They also urged Chinese nationals not to fall into “high-paying recruitment traps” – i.e., avoid getting scammed while looking for a job in the gambling industry’s Chinese-speaking segment.

The embassy also encouraged its compatriots to surrender and report illegal gambling-related activities. In fact, China’s Ministry of Public Security launched a platform for this purpose, and it can be as easy as scanning a QR code. As it was put in the published warning, “reports and surrenders are welcome” by the Chinese law enforcement.

It’s an open secret that even though overseas gambling is prohibited in China, there are still mainland Chinese who travel abroad – or to Macau, China’s special administrative region – to enjoy games of chance in a casino. Cambodia is one of the destinations popular with such players, and the Chinese government knows this too.

In August 2019, Cambodia’s government stopped issuing new licenses for online gambling activities. It also decided not to renew the existing permits once they expire. All of this was done in an attempt to curb the illegal activities associated with the industry – fraud, money extortion, etc. At the same time, Cambodia prime minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen called on the country’s authorities to “intensify investigations and suppression on all illegal online gambling businesses in order to maintain social security and public order.”

China’s Embassy in Cambodia mentioned the ban in its announcement as well, saying that “law enforcement agencies of China and Cambodia are stepping up joint crackdowns” on “online gambling and fraud activities” that involve Chinese nationals in Cambodia.

In October 2020, the Cambodian parliament adopted the bill that was meant to bring the casino industry “under control.” The bill established a minimum capital for casino-related investments, as well as expanded the measures for preventing money laundering and financing terrorism.

It’s worth noting that Cambodian nationals are prohibited from gambling in casinos; so, the country’s whole gambling industry is dependent on foreign tourists to make a profit. In a somewhat surprising twist, the embassy’s warning was published on the same day as the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China announced it was going to add the second batch of gambling destinations to the blacklist that was originally created in August last year.

Despite the wide coverage of China’s overseas gambling blacklist in media outlets, we are still in the dark regarding which destinations are currently on the list. It would be safe to say that the blacklisted cities and/or countries have one thing in common: they are popular with Chinese gamblers. That would put Cambodia, the Philippines, Macau, and Australia on suspects’ list.

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