Mekong shady online gambling and money laundering operated by China

AGB - Asia Gaming Brief
 
Mekong shady online gambling and money laundering operated by China
Wild Casino

Good Morning. The Mekong region is being plagued by a series of online gambling and money laundering operations focused on – and operated largely by – one main market: China. An analyst points out the sheer scale of the operations, and difficulty for law enforcement to eradicate them. Meanwhile, Australia’s The Star is facing ‘Bell Two’ – a new inquiry which will determine if it can hold a casino license in Sydney. And in Macau, the premium mass segment saw its best-ever results during Chinese New Year, led by Galaxy.

The proximity to China has caused the region around the Mekong River to become a hub for online gambling and money laundering activities, notes an analyst. The underground economy supporting such activities is comparable to the foreign direct investment in some countries, with the groups behind them shielding themselves from regulation by operating in militia-run or controlled areas. The effect has been an increase in corruption and foreign-targeted scams, as well as human trafficking, notes Crisis Group’s Richard Horsey.

Casino cheat turned table games protection consultant Richard Marcus says that chip manipulation is and will likely always be the most common type of casino cheating. Even RFID technology can’t protect from the psychological tricks employed by cheats, meaning that their scams are oftentimes overlooked, despite all the surveillance in place.

1xBet is one of the leaders in the global betting industry. The bookmaker offers its clients excellent betting and gambling opportunities worldwide, quality service, and support. 1xBet listens to its players to constantly improve the product, which the brand’s clients in the Philippines have already tried.

Registrations for the 2024 ASEAN Gaming Summit, the calendar conference of excellence of the gaming industry in the region, are officially open. Scheduled from 19th to 21st March 2024, the Summit is the gateway to the Next-Gen of gaming in Asia.