China warns citizens in Singapore against overseas gambling

The Chinese embassy in Singapore has issued a warning to its citizens residing in the city-state, advising them to refrain from participating in any form of gambling while abroad. The embassy emphasized that gambling activities outside of China violate Chinese laws.

This cautionary statement from the embassy coincides with intensified efforts by Beijing to combat Chinese citizens' involvement in gambling across Southeast Asia, a region popular among tourists.

“Even if overseas casinos are legally opened, cross-border gambling by Chinese citizens is suspected of violating the laws of our country,” the embassy's notification said.

In its advisory, the embassy urged Chinese nationals in Singapore to enhance their understanding of relevant laws and regulations, emphasizing the importance of abstaining from gambling activities. Singapore hosts two major casinos, one operated by Las Vegas Sands and the other by Genting Singapore.

Notably, the embassy's warning does not extend to Macau, the only region in China where gambling is permitted. However, it underscores China's firm stance against gambling activities outside its borders.

The Chinese government has been actively cracking down on cross-border, offshore, and online gambling, issuing similar warnings to various countries, among them South Korea and Sri Lanka. The embassy highlighted that embassies and consulates might not be able to offer consular protection to individuals found violating gambling laws.

"Cross-border gambling may also bring risks such as fraud, money laundering, kidnapping, detention, trafficking, and smuggling," the Chinese embassy in Singapore said in its statement on Monday.

Industry expert Ben Lee noted the complexity of enforcing China's anti-gambling laws across different jurisdictions, given the longstanding illegality of gambling for mainland Chinese citizens, Macau Daily Times reported.

“There’s very little doubt that they will most likely not apply that law to Macau as the outcome would be nothing short of a disaster for the SAR,” Lee, managing partner of IGamiX Management & Consulting, was quoted as saying in the report.

China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism previously established a blacklist of overseas gambling destinations, excluding Macau, to deter Chinese citizens from engaging in such activities. Recent collaborations between law enforcement agencies in China and countries like the Philippines have resulted in the repatriation of Chinese nationals involved in offshore gambling operations.

The Chinese embassy in Singapore also announced the establishment of a reporting platform by the Ministry of Public Security of China to combat cross-border and online gambling, allowing Chinese citizens to report suspicious activities.