Southeast Asian Countries Move Against Online Gambling

Online and phone betting in Southeast Asian countries by punters from China have prompted Beijing to step up efforts to stem cross-border online gambling.

Southeast Asian countries are moving against their lucrative online gambling industries as Beijing clamps down on a practice that has ballooned due to demand from its own citizens.

The Philippine gaming regulator said that it would stop accepting applications for new online gaming operations at least until the end of the year, to review concerns about the burgeoning sector.

Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen has ordered a stop to new licences for online gambling operations. Existing licenses also will not be renewed upon expiry.

The about-turn in gambling policy in these Southeast Asian nations comes as China steps up efforts against what its minister for public security called “the cross-border online gambling problem.”

In the Philippines, more than 50 offshore gambling companies have permits to operate, over a hundred thousand Chinese workers had surged into Manila to staff the industry and property prices near gaming sites were booming.

Andrea Domingo, the Philippines’ gaming agency chair, while announcing the pause in new licenses emphasised that the practice is legal in the country, but that gaming revenue growth may be flat to slow this year due to China’s campaign.