Chinese Man Jailed for Online Casino Gambling

The first online gambling prosecution by the Chinese government has resulted in a Beijing native being sentenced to one year in jail with a 10,000 yuan fine. This sentence was given for the individuals involvement in an online betting business during the World Cup this year.

Beijing’s Dongcheng District Peoples Court issued the one year jail sentence to Zhao Yan for assisting others in placing bets online during the World Cup. He was acting as a middleman for an offshore sports betting operator and had collected over 7 million yuan from clients throughout China. This prosecution will be used as a benchmark to prosecute other violations and it will used to get the word out about China’s stance when it comes to online gambling. China is opposed to online gambling, but their is little that they can do to stop offshore operators from encouraging Chinese citizens to place bets through their sports betting software over the Internet.