With Chinese authorities showing a real enthusiasm for cracking down on companies that allow Chinese citizens to bet online, you might wonder why companies are willing to take that risk. How about the fact that during the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Chinese punters placed bets worth an estimated 500 billion yuan — roughly 2% of China’s GDP? Simply put, the market as it exists is already massive, with the potential for almost unlimited growth.
And it’s not just punters and bookmakers who think China’s government should lighten up on the whole crackdown thing. The Beijing Lawyers’ Association is on record as suggesting that the authorities “rethink the rationality of the current approach to illegal gambling… [because] it’s impossible to stop.” Face it, guys, just as the Great Wall couldn’t keep out the Mongols, the Great Firewall will have even less success, in part because the people the wall is supposed to be protecting are looking to undermine it from within. Read more.
