Chinese Newspaper Targets Macau’s Suncity in Online Gambling Report

A Chinese newspaper has reported that Suncity, the biggest junket operator in Macau, has raked in billions of dollars in online gaming and proxy betting, causing great harm to China’s social economic order.

The report by Economic Information Daily was the first time a Macau junket has been singled out for online gaming activity and comes as China faces slowing economic growth and seeks to keep a lid on capital outflows.

Gambling is illegal in mainland China apart from in the special administrative region of Macau where Chinese nationals are able to bet in casinos. Suncity enabled Chinese players to bet through online casinos in the Philippines and Cambodia and utilised underground banks to move capital out of the country.

“The annual amount bet through online gambling in the mainland is more than one trillion yuan ($145 billion), equivalent to nearly twice the annual income of China’s lottery,” the report said.

Suncity said in a statement that it didn’t operate any online gaming business and all its operations were permitted under local government regulations.

Macau’s gaming regulator said that online gambling in Macau is illegal and if there were violations of local laws and regulations, outside of the former Portuguese colony, it would affect the qualifications of the junket operators and the bureau would “take serious action.”