Online Casino Transfer: News - China's Gambling Out of Control

02/04/2010		Online Casino Style: News China's Gambling Out of Control - 2
Home History Games News Dictionary		continued from China's Gambling Out of Control - 1 In her attempt to service the needs of the population, Xuehong has been petitioning the government to allow her to open a gambling problem treatment center for years, with no luck. The Beijing municipal government has refused her every petition, possibly in their attempt to deny that the prohibition on online gambling is ineffective. Allowing a center to treat gambling addictions would be to admit that gambling exists in China. The only acquisition has been to allow Xuehong to open a call center for help, though the phone number has been prohibited from being advertised. In spite of the ban on letting people know of the service, Xuehong has reported that the number of calls for help is close to overwhelming. And the only thing they are allowed to do is listen: the government will not allow any treatment, so listening and calm reassurance and advice are the only options. “We can’t do anything to help them because we don’t have a treatment centre,” said Xuehong. “If people have a really serious problem, we ask the local government if they can be admitted to a mental hospital.” Ironically, many of the calls they receive are from those residents addicted to buying the legal, government endorsed lottery tickets. “These are people who are going bankrupt, who have been divorced by their partners, who want to commit suicide." And there is nothing that can legally be done. The Daily Telegraph puts the numbers in perspective: China is a country with more than half the population, an easy 700 million people, living in rural areas, making an average of 4,700 yuan a year (equal to about £415). While the internet is not a part of their world, games of mahjong and card schools take place on street corners and unofficial lotteries run rampant. In cities, there are underground casinos flourishing, and hundreds of online casinos cater to the needs of internet gambling. Macau, an island just off the coast, continues to benefit from the ban, with thousands of gamblers trekking to place their wagers on weekend trips. But by far, the black market does the very best: while the legal lotteries see as much as £90 million in annual profits, the websites dwarf the revenue by comparison. “I’d estimate that 10 times more is spent on illegal gambling,” said Xuehong.

02/04/2010

Online Casino Style: News
China's Gambling Out of Control - 2

continued from China's Gambling Out of Control - 1

In her attempt to service the needs of the population, Xuehong has been petitioning the government to allow her to open a gambling problem treatment center for years, with no luck. The Beijing municipal government has refused her every petition, possibly in their attempt to deny that the prohibition on online gambling is ineffective. Allowing a center to treat gambling addictions would be to admit that gambling exists in China.

The only acquisition has been to allow Xuehong to open a call center for help, though the phone number has been prohibited from being advertised. In spite of the ban on letting people know of the service, Xuehong has reported that the number of calls for help is close to overwhelming. And the only thing they are allowed to do is listen: the government will not allow any treatment, so listening and calm reassurance and advice are the only options. “We can’t do anything to help them because we don’t have a treatment centre,” said Xuehong. “If people have a really serious problem, we ask the local government if they can be admitted to a mental hospital.” Ironically, many of the calls they receive are from those residents addicted to buying the legal, government endorsed lottery tickets. “These are people who are going bankrupt, who have been divorced by their partners, who want to commit suicide." And there is nothing that can legally be done.

The Daily Telegraph puts the numbers in perspective: China is a country with more than half the population, an easy 700 million people, living in rural areas, making an average of 4,700 yuan a year (equal to about £415). While the internet is not a part of their world, games of mahjong and card schools take place on street corners and unofficial lotteries run rampant. In cities, there are underground casinos flourishing, and hundreds of online casinos cater to the needs of internet gambling. Macau, an island just off the coast, continues to benefit from the ban, with thousands of gamblers trekking to place their wagers on weekend trips. But by far, the black market does the very best: while the legal lotteries see as much as £90 million in annual profits, the websites dwarf the revenue by comparison. “I’d estimate that 10 times more is spent on illegal gambling,” said Xuehong.