China cracks down on border casinos

China cracks down on border casinos
Posted: 17 April 2007 1217 hrs


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BEIJING: Intensified police work and diplomacy have resulted in the closure of 121 casinos outside China's borders that had sought to profit from the nation's appetite for gambling, state press said on Tuesday.

Only 28 casinos, mostly along China's borders with Russia, Myanmar and Vietnam, are currently operating, down from 149 in 2005, the China Daily reported, citing the ministry of public security.

"We expect the number will continue to drop this year," said Zhang Jun, an official in charge of cracking down on gambling.

Intensified diplomacy has led some cities bordering China to ban Chinese from entering local casinos, while police have also been seeking to stem gambling funds from exiting the nation, it said.

Casinos have been prime channels for capital flight, as high rollers gamble away embezzled public funds or illegal business earnings, the China Daily said.

Chinese courts handled 381,000 gambling cases nationwide last year, involving 1.25 million suspected gamblers and involving 4.8 billion yuan (620 million dollars), it said.

It was unclear how many of these cases stemmed from the border casinos, it added.

China's massive appetite for gambling has led to recent calls from officials to legalise gaming, a move that could allow the government to increase tax revenues.

"The market is there and gambling is part of human nature," said Wang Xuehong, head of the China Centre for Lottery Studies at Beijing University.

"If the choice of legalised products is too limited, the majority will be forced underground," she said in the China Daily report.

Wang's centre estimated that Chinese bet 800 billion yuan on underground or overseas gambling last year, or 10 times the legal market, it said.