This is a new article from the Wall Street Journal, not sure if it is paywalled so the text (minus the garphics) are pasted here.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-gambli ... d1648a1293

New Gambling Dens Are a Problem for Beijing
Capital is flowing out of China via casinos in neighboring countries, and Beijing may not turn a blind eye indefinitely
By Jacky Wong
Updated July 10, 2019 7:42 am ET

From Manila to Vladivostok, China’s gamblers have plenty of new places to play. But Beijing may not turn a blind eye indefinitely.

An article in Chinese state media this week said Suncity, Macau’s largest junket operator, facilitated capital outflows by running an online gambling platform in the Philippines and Cambodia that targets gamblers in China. Suncity denied the accusations and said it doesn’t have any online gambling operations. Junket operators are an integral part of Macau casinos. They recruit high rollers from mainland China, lend them money to bet with and handle the debt collection.

Beijing may be getting uneasy about money seeping out of China via gambling channels other than Macau, the only place in the country where casinos are legal. The Chinese government has in the past restricted capital flows into the semiautonomous city, which uses the Macau pataca rather than the renminbi. Cash leaks via casinos in neighboring countries could be harder to control or trace.


A dealer collects chips at a casino in the Philippines. PHOTO: ERIK DE CASTRO/REUTERS
These casinos, usually in countries with lower gambling taxes and laxer regulations, have been luring Chinese high-rollers away from Macau. Suncity, for example, currently generates around one-third of its business outside of the former Portuguese colony, compared with less than 30% last year, according to Credit Suisse.

The new gambling destinations have grown strongly. Gross gambling revenue in Cambodia rose 32% in the first quarter compared with the same period of 2018, while revenue in Macau was flat, according to Goldman Sachs. Virtual casinos, particularly in the Philippines, have also attracted Chinese high rollers in recent years. These online platforms brought in 7.4 billion pesos ($144.3 million) in licensing fees for the Philippine government last year, almost twice the amount in 2017.

Macau casinos, particularly those with strong VIP businesses like Wynn Macau , could benefit if Beijing decided to clamp down on money flows to overseas gambling hot spots. But there is a caveat: If that means China has to tighten the screws on capital outflows more generally, Macau too will suffer—again.

Write to Jacky Wong at [email protected]