Chinese Gambling Activities Expanded To Southeast Asian Countries

Gambling is against the law in China other than in Macau. As a result, a sea gambling industry centered on China has emerged in Southeast Asian countries, like judi online in Indonesia, Philippines, including Cambodia. The driving factor for the development of online gaming in the Cambodian port, the city of Sihanoukville is the attractive economic return.

Regardless of the economic rewards brought by gambling, the arrival of Chinese citizens into Cambodia has resulted in an upsurge in the number of criminal offenses which include extortion, kidnapping, and even murder. Casinos also exposed the cessation of money laundering and child labor. A lot of massage rooms have been established to benefit gamblers. The expansion of Chinese people associated with gambling-related issues has negatively affected national security and public order (including social order).

The Philippines is an alternative to Cambodia and another hot spot in the development of online games in China. In April 2019, an estimated 138,000 Chinese citizens obtained work permits for Chinese gaming establishments called Philippine Offshore Game Operators (POGO) locally. Due to the development of the gambling industry, the number of reported crimes related to gambling has increased, including the kidnapping of Chinese citizens as perpetrators.

From a socio-economic point of view, conditional actions should be maintained instead of completely banning China’s overseas gambling activities. On the one hand, the governments of Cambodia and the Philippines should impose strict regulations on the operation of sea gambling activities, for example, strengthen recruitment reviews to ensure that underage children are not employed by game operators, and prohibit the operation of massage parlors.

On the other hand, these governments should hire more law enforcement personnel to supervise the daily activities inside and outside the casino to prevent money laundering and other gambling-related crimes. An independent supervisory agency should be established to monitor the actions of law enforcement officials and arrest those involved in corrupt activities.

In addition, immigration screening should be strengthened to ensure that all Chinese citizens entering these Southeast Asian countries have valid work permits. All Chinese citizens who participate in game-related activities with visitor visas should be arrested and deported. In addition, immigration authorities should limit the issuance of work visas to Chinese citizens to prevent China’s overseas gambling industry from developing too much.

By restricting the scope and activities of the maritime gambling industry, Southeast Asian countries can continue to reap huge profits from gambling-related fees and taxes. These countries can also provide local residents with a range of employment opportunities to help minimize their unemployment rate.

In general, for the socio-economic development of Southeast Asian countries, China’s maritime gambling activities should be restricted, not absolutely prohibited.

How important is gambling to the Economy?

Gambling and the Economy are two terms that few people put in context. There are different reasons for this.

What is meant by gambling?

Games of chance can be defined as follows: money is used and those who are successful win money. In this country, this primarily means sports betting, horse betting, poker, games in an online casino like gclub. Lotto also belongs in this category. In connection with games of chance, addiction is often warned, although there is no doubt that not everyone is at risk. In the Economy, observations are likely to have a different view on this topic than, for example, in politics and the general public. If you look at it objectively, you don’t believe who is involved in everything in this industry. And we’re not talking about any bookmakers or casinos. The reason for the interest is simply money.

The assumed sales

There are no 100% reliable figures on how much sales are made with sports betting,  horse betting, and online casinos. No official information is known about how many players and if in fact there are any. However, if you research the sums that, for example, the best-known betting providers spend on sponsoring, several billion euros can be assumed. In this context, it is important to know that almost all providers are internationally oriented. There is a lot of advertising for sports betting. An online casino doesn’t usually have the same opportunity to advertise. Advertising leads to increased sales. But even the casinos on the Internet can sometimes afford TV advertising. Even if figures are available for certain operators because they are listed on the stock exchange, it is difficult to decipher how high the turnover actually is, especially since it would have to be broken down by time period.

It’s booming: revenue from games of chance

Gambling can be described as a booming economy. Hardly any branch has so much upwind. If the numbers are correct that a total of 100 billion euros will be turned over in the year (this has not been proven), this shows great economic strength. One problem, however, is that most companies that recruit customers do not work from locally. And that, in turn, has reasons for which the state must be responsible. The issue here is that prejudice against gambling exists. The laws are out of date. Experts claim that the money that flows to bookmakers abroad through various channels is lacking in the Economy. However, nobody will be able to prevent that people like to do sports betting or play the games in an online casino. The channels would just have to be redirected. The money would benefit the Economy. More people would make money from gambling than employees, and the state would benefit from the taxes. The only tax currently being collected is 5% for every use made on the Internet. It is the law of betting tax.

Sports betting, in particular, is of great importance in the country

There are several providers of sports betting. Advertising is not just a magazine to discover. They exist before and after television programs that are extremely popular. There is also gang advertising on television. Every football club has a betting provider as a partner. Other sports and sometimes special clubs also have such partners. Taxes are paid on such contracts. This in turn means that the state also benefits. If the providers can afford these payments, it says a lot about sales. And one wonders objectively why politicians are so vehemently opposed to gambling.

The importance of the Economy

Sales of sports betting and games in online casinos add up to billions of dollars in revenue for operators each year. The Economy benefits remarkably little because of prejudice and outdated laws. The money will always flow, the task for politics is to direct the flow of money into the right channels.