People's Republic of China
Mainland China prohibits commercial gambling and prosecutes it as crime rather than regulating it. Article 303 of the Criminal Law covers gambling for profit, operating gambling houses and making gambling a profession, with sentences of up to three years and fines. The only lawful exceptions are two state monopolies, the China Welfare Lottery launched in 1987 and the China Sports Lottery launched in 1994, which the state does not classify as gambling at all. China matters to the industry mainly through what it does beyond its own borders. The Ministry of Public Security runs a sustained campaign against cross-border operators targeting Chinese citizens, and that campaign is the single largest external force acting on gambling policy in Macau, the Philippines and Cambodia. Note that Macau and Hong Kong are separate jurisdictions with their own regimes and are not covered by this record. The ministry has reported dismantling more than 4,500 illegal online gambling platforms and investigating 73,000 cases in a single year.
Macau and Hong Kong are separate jurisdictions. Statements about Chinese gambling law do not apply to either.
Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, Article 303
Nothing suggests any move toward licensing. The variable that moves markets is the intensity of cross-border enforcement, which has repeatedly reshaped junket, VIP and offshore operations across the region.
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