Asian gambling busts

[jetset]

CHINESE ANTI-GAMBLING COPS WERE BUSY LAST YEAR

347 000 busts involving over a million players

The Chinese publication Xinghua reports that China's police busted a total of 347 000 gambling cases involving more than a million people last year and retrieved 3.56 billion yuan (445 million U.S. dollars) of betting money, according to a Ministry of Public Security statement this week.

Police departments had specially targeted illegal private lotteries, gambling at overseas casinos, online betting and gambling cases involving Party cadres, said an official with the ministry.

Despite a long tradition of gambling, the pastime was outlawed on the Chinese mainland in 1949 when New China was founded, other than state lotteries.

An amendment to the Criminal Law at the end of 2005 intensified punishment for illegal casino operators, who may face up to 10 years in prison, in addition to fines.

"It has provided us with a powerful legal weapon in the crackdown on gambling," the official said.


GAMBLERS GET NIK-ED IN MALAYSIA

Betting venues were close to police stations, say officials

The New Straits Times reports that four gambling dens were uncovered just 100 metres from a police station during an operation in Sekinchan last weekend.

Barely 48 hours later, a similar operation was discovered....this time just 300 metres away from the Kampung Baru Subang police station.

The Subang premises, masquerading as an Internet cafe, was equipped with 30 computers worth almost RM100 000, installed with gambling software. A team of six men led by Selangor anti-vice, gaming and secret societies deputy chief ASP Nik Roshdi Nik Yahya raided the two-storey corner shophouse at night, but found no-one home other than a Bangladeshi worker, who was arrested.

It is believed the premises had been in operation for nearly a year and was popular among the locals and foreign workers.

The officer-in-charge of the Sekinchan police station has been hauled over the coals and asked to explain how illegal gaming activities were allowed to operate 100 metres away from his station. Selangor police chief Datuk Ismail Omar, while not going into details, said he was not satisfied with the explanation given by the officer.

"Sekinchan, which comes under the Sabak Bernam police district, is a small area. Illegal gaming activities can be curbed easily," he said. He added that the matter is now being investigated and declined to comment further.

In similar cases previously, several police officers and personnel were transferred out of the district after gaming and vice activities were uncovered in their area.

Ismail said all district police chiefs were warned that action would be taken against them if they "close an eye" to illegal activities in their respective districts.

For the past six months, the state police’s anti-vice, gaming and secret society division has been conducting daily operations on gambling and vice activities.

Last Saturday night, Federal CID director Datuk Christopher Wan Soo Kee led a team raifing other gambling dens in Sekinchan.The raiding party seized 241 slot machines valued at RM723 000 which offered jackpot and mahjong games.

[Professor]

As investment pours into Macau its logical that the chinese would protect their interests (just dont call them capitalists) and crack down on "illegal" gambling.

By encouraging citizens to drop their Yen in Macau they generate tax revenues and jobs. What they are doing mirrors what we do in the west in terms of protecting their golden geese.

[wangpoker]

As a chinese from china I know the gambling law there very well. People still can gamble online but all kinds of organized gambling are illegal, for example, taking bets from people for overseas sportsbooks. I stayed in china from March~ Sept 2006 and had no problem playing online poker/casinos/sportsbetting.

If you have any question about china gambling situation, ask me.