Chinese diplomatic missions serving a number of major Asia-Pacific casino jurisdictions have issued “stay away from gambling” warnings to Chinese citizens amid the advent of the Chinese New Year holiday period that started on Sunday (February 15).
Chinese New Year this time falls on February 17 (Tuesday) and the annual celebration is usually a peak travel period for Chinese nationals. On the Chinese mainland, the festival will be marked by a nine-day holiday that runs until Monday, February 23.
Several of the warnings about “cross-border” gambling specifically refer to separate instances where “a Chinese citizen jumped to his death” after participating in gambling.
One advisory notice, issued on Saturday, was from China’s Singapore embassy, and mentioned particularly, a fatal jumping incident following a person gambling at Marina Bay Sands, the Singapore property of Las Vegas Sands Corp.
The warning stated: “Recently, a Chinese citizen jumped to his death after gambling at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel.”
It added: “The embassy is guiding the family in handling the aftermath.”
Another statement issued on Sunday by China’s consulate in Da Nang, on Vietnam’s central coast, said: “Recently, a tragic incident occurred in Hoi An Hotel [sic] in Da Nang, Vietnam, where a Chinese citizen jumped to his death after participating in gambling. This serves as a stark reminder.”
Both statements referred to citizens being able to report overseas-gambling cases to the Chinese authorities, including via an official WeChat account titled: “Reject Cross-Border Gambling”.
GGRAsia respectively approached Marina Bay Sands in Singapore; and Hoiana Resort & Golf, Hoi An’s only integrated resort (IR) with casino, for comment on the Chinese diplomatic warnings.
Marina Bay Sands stated: “At this time we won’t have anything to add on this.”
Singapore has a casino duopoly, with the other casino resort being Resorts World Sentosa, run by a unit of Genting Singapore Ltd.
Hoiana Resort & Golf in Vietnam told GGRAsia it could not comment on the Chinese consulate’s statement.
An advisory notice last week from the Chinese embassy in Sri Lanka, a casino jurisdiction, also mentioned avoiding “gambling”, as did a Saturday notice from the embassy in the Philippines, and one the same day from the embassy in South Korea.
Macau is the only place in China where casino gambling is legal. The city welcomed nearly 279,400 visitors over the weekend, showed preliminary figures from the city’s Public Security Police. Most of Macau’s tourists come from the mainland.
Some of the advisory notices from Chinese overseas missions stated: “Gambling is strictly prohibited under Chinese law, and the amendment to the Criminal Law has formally criminalised cross-border gambling.”
“Even if overseas casinos are legally operating, Chinese citizens engaging in cross-border gambling are suspected of violating Chinese law,” the statements added.
The Singapore and Vietnam warnings mentioned sanctions specifically against “those involved in organising gambling activities,” adding that all involved “will be held legally responsible”.
(Updated Feb 16, 7.58pm)
