China cracks down on cross-border gambling with instructions to courts nationwide

China is cracking down on cross-border gambling as the Supreme People’s Court has instructed courts nationwide to maintain strict penalties for those who organize this type of gambling.

According to China Daily, the top court in the country has emphasized the need to continue putting pressure on and has “urged all levels of court to escalate efforts in combating organized gambling crimes abroad.”

#China's top court has instructed courts nationwide to maintain strict penalties for those who organize cross-border gambling, particularly cracking down on violent crimes such as intentional killings linked to gambling. https://t.co/2GWNZoGeug pic.twitter.com/5iHG8XFsRf

— China Daily (@ChinaDaily) January 21, 2025

“With economic and internet development, the problem of overseas casinos enticing Chinese citizens to engage in gambling has become increasingly prominent,” the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) was reported to have said.

A total of six representative cases were disclosed to highlight and demonstrate the approach. Within one of the cases, a gambling syndicate leader received a six-year prison sentence for operating gambling activities in Macao which generated profits exceeding 300m yuan (roughly $41M).

Other syndicate members highlighted within the case received a range of sentences from 30 to 36 months.

It was back in July of 2024 when the SPC issued a news release stating that courts should “continue imposing harsh penalties on people involved in cross-border gambling crimes, with a focus on organizers, ringleaders and repeat offenders.

“The directive aims to prevent financial risks and safeguard economic security,” the post reads.

When expressing why there is a need for severe punishment of those involved, the court said: “These crimes seriously affect social stability and economic security and damage the country’s image.”

Gambling by Chinese citizens on the mainland, including online and overseas, is considered illegal under Chinese law. It was officially outlawed in 1949.

The courts are said to have been instructed to focus on gambling operations which have been disguised as tourism ventures.

In the previous news release, the SPC highlighted the growing issue of overseas casinos and online gambling groups targeting Chinese citizens as they said that “such activities lead to significant outflows of domestic funds and give rise to various other offenses, including kidnapping, illegal detention, fraud, extortion and money laundering.”

Featured Image: AI-generated via Ideogram

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