The Chinese province of Hainan has joined its mainland counterparts in discouraging investment in gambling operations.
In August, Beijing authorities announced that Chinese citizens were forbidden from making overseas investments in gambling, the sex industry and core military technology businesses. Hainan authorities are now taking their own steps to curb a recent local surge in gambling-related investments.
An investigation by Chinese media outlet Caixin revealed that over 70 companies had registered as internet gambling businesses in Hainan over the past year. Each of these companies, which involved either traditional online gambling, lotteries or race betting operations, had pledged over RMB 10m (US $1.5m) in capital.
The surge in investment was reportedly based on rumors that the government was planning on legalizing horserace betting. Such rumors have been circulating since 2009, but in August the Hainan government inked an agreement with a sports administrative body that called for both parties to “support the exploration of developing sports betting and instant lotteries for large international competitions.”
However, local officials told Caixin that higher-ranking authorities had since decided that any approved gambling activities would be restricted to non-profit organizations – similar to China’s official sports and welfare lottery administrators – not private commercial operators. As a result, Hainan authorities are suspending registrations of the companies that had expressed interest in getting in on the gambling ground floor.
The future remains uncertain, as an official with the Administration for Industry & Commerce in the Baoting Li and Miao autonomous country in Hainan told Caixin that these registrations were only currently suspended, and that the authorities were “waiting for further instructions” as to whether such registrations should be formally revoked.
Hainan’s potential as a gambling hub endured a similar flood of interest several years ago, when a local resort opened a ‘cashless’ casino that paid out winnings in credits that could only be redeemed for non-gaming amenities at the resort.
Reports soon circulated that the cashless casino was just one of up to 10 such establishments that were being tested as a pilot program. But these operations were quickly shut down and a Communist Party official vowed that Hainan wasn’t about to become a Macau-style gaming hub anytime soon.
VIETNAM SLOW-ROLLS SPORTS BETTING … AGAIN
Speaking of gamblus interruptus, Vietnam’s long-delayed plan to authorize legal sports betting has hit yet another roadblock. In January, the government issued a decree authorizing a five-year pilot program to permit legal betting on horse- and dog-racing as well as on international football matches. The decree was supposed to take effect on March 31.
However, a Monday session of Vietnam’s National Assembly brought pleas from some legislators for more time to consider the impact that legal betting will have on society. Phan Thanh Binh, chairman of the Assembly’s Culture and Education Committee, requested that various government agencies produce detailed reports on betting’s likely impact on social order. Fearless prediction: the reports will conclude that more study is needed.
