Chinese people are “victims of offshore gambling,” noted the country’s embassy in the Philippines. The Thursday remarks by a spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines was in response to a specific question about an incident at the weekend where a local police raid reportedly targeted several Chinese citizens purportedly tied to offshore gaming business.It was though the third time in a matter of weeks that a Chinese diplomatic mission in Asia Pacific had publicly warned of risks if Chinese citizens became involved in gambling.

Thursday’s commentary was about an April 14 incident in Metro Manila, where a person said to be a Chinese citizen linked to offshore gambling business, allegedly tried to bribe local police with PHP3 million (US$52,500) not to take action against him and another Chinese man.It followed a raid earlier that day at a residential address in 온라인카지노 Taguig, Metro Manila, where it was said guns and other items were seized.The Chinese embassy spokesman said, when asked about the incident: “Gambling in any form is illegal according to the law of China.

“The Chinese government opposes and cracks down on Chinese nationals engaging in the gambling business abroad in accordance with law.”The spokesperson added: “The Chinese government always requires its citizens overseas to abide by local laws and regulations. Gambling is a social menace. Chinese people are victims of offshore gambling.”The mission’s spokesperson also noted that the “Chinese embassy stays in communication with the Philippine law enforcement agencies on offences” related to offshore gambling, “and supports the Philippine side in addressing the root causes of the problem arising from” that industry.

Offshore gambling licensing was introduced by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor) as a way of regulating operators based in that country and who wished to serve overseas players.But widely-publicised allegations of tax evasion and crimes, including kidnapping, allegedly linked to those operators, led Pagcor to revamp its licensing system for offshore operators, and to disqualify or bar some licensees.