Raids on Chinese online gambling centers are multiplying throughout South East Asia.

Chinese tourists busted for running illegal online gambling den in Pattaya
4 September 2019
Nineteen Chinese tourists were arrested following a raid on two rooms at the CC Condominium in Pattaya just after midnight this morning.

They were running an online gambling operation turning over 2 million Yuan or about 8 million baht a month.

The raid was led by Chonburi provincial police chief Maj-Gen Nanthachart Suphamongkhon in conjunction with tourist and immigration police.

Maj-Gen Nanthachart said that suspicions were aroused after a large number of tourists were spotted going into rooms 421/114 and 421/117.

Armed with a Pattaya court search warrant the authorities found the Chinese and a host of evidence in the form of computer notebooks, mobile phones and electronic accounts.

In one room there were 14 men and 3 women taking bets while there were two people in another room. Nearly 200 phones were seized.

All those arrested have been booked with working illegally.
They were paid 10,000 Yuan or about 40,000 baht a month, reported Daily News.
http://www.samuitimes.com/chinese-touri ... n-pattaya/

Macao to win from gambling crackdown in Cambodia and Philippines
Chinese pressure on online casinos should help reverse outflow
ZACH COLEMAN, Nikkei Asian Review deputy editor
September 28, 2019 16:38 JST

HONG KONG -- China's ongoing crackdown on remote gambling has sent online operators in Cambodia and the Philippines scrambling for cover, but should provide relief for Macao casinos facing shrinking revenues.

Beijing's campaign started after a state-owned newspaper in early June called out Suncity Group, the biggest of the Macao junket companies which help to arrange high rollers' casino trips, for causing social harm and driving capital outflows by connecting Chinese VIPs with gambling services in Southeast Asia.

A few days later, Chinese Public Security Minister Zhao Kezhi publicly announced a crackdown on organizations involved in cross-border gambling.

Macao regulators followed up by directing city junket operators to curtail marketing of overseas gambling services and discontinue the settlement of offshore betting debts.

Suncity, for its part, called a news conference in Macao to deny involvement in illegal activity or online gambling, but Chief Executive Alvin Chau pledged to align all of the company's overseas operations with the city's laws.

The company later said it would shut down its two VIP clubs in Australia, but around the same time it opened a new club within Resorts World Manila casino, co-owned by Malaysia's Genting and local company Alliance Global Group.

Beijing's spotlight, though, has spooked high rollers and junket agents from Suncity, with the company's Macao VIP betting volume declining more than 30% in August from a year earlier, according an estimate by Praveen Choudhary, chief Asia gaming analyst for Morgan Stanley.

Chau told a Hong Kong newspaper this month that mainland high rollers have been borrowing and betting less, and cutting back on their trips to Macao to reduce the risk of drawing attention from Chinese authorities.

Macao's overall VIP market was down 25% to 30% last month, according to estimates by UBS analysts.
https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Media- ... hilippines

PM HE Tells Investors Why Cambodia Closes Online Gambling
09/10/19 02:32
Phnom Penh (FN), Oct. 8 – Cambodian Prime Minister HE unveiled the reasons the government ended all kinds of online gambling, pointing out to low taxes and social issues.

“Online gambling gives us low taxes, but brings about many issues like crime and money laundering,” the premier spoke in a Tuesday meeting with 40 Chinese investors with their first name “Hun”, held at the Peace Palace Phnom Penh.

“Even though the kingdom adheres to free market regime, her economy does not depend on gambling. We prefer major investment on various sectors,” he continued.

It is worth noting that in late August 2019, the Royal Government ordered to stop all forms of online gambling by the end of 2019, according to a press release from the Council of Ministers.

"All types and forms of online gambling in Cambodia are illegal and must entirely stop by 2019," it said.

The press release underlined that Cambodia needs to develop the economy based on cultural and natural tourism services rather than relying solely on online gambling revenue.

The decision also aims to stop foreign criminals from conducting online frauds and kidnapping, which affected national security and social order.
http://en.freshnewsasia.com/index.php/e ... 53-01.html