Online gambling is illegal in China. But with huge incentives and a large number of gamblers in the country, it is very difficult to eliminate the ongoing underground gambling that might be happening every day.
WeChat recently published its latest effort to close down accounts and groups that are involved with online gambling. With the World Cup starting in June, the majority of online gambling activities are in betting World Cup game results. According to WeChat’s official statement, the application operation team located and punished more than 50,000 WeChat accounts and shut down more than 8000 WeChat groups that are involved with online gambling.
WeChat included several examples of online gambling. Screenshot content shows how gambling platforms attract gamblers to use their services for betting game results.
“It is very easy to be addicted to gambling. Out of 10 gamblers, 9 of them will lose and could potentially lose everything.” WeChat operational team stated in its official statement. “It is against the law to bet online.”
WeChat also mentioned that scamming activities may possibly take place in online gambling, causing users to lose money.
While Chinese authorities prohibit online gambling, many gamblers and businesses started to develop underground on social media and on WeChat. “We suggest everyone have a rational state of mind and refrain from gambling.” Says WeChat Security Operation Team.
Earlier in March, WeChat helped Chinese police arrested 15 suspects involved in online gambling, 14 of them were later indicted.
WeChat encourages all users to report suspicious accounts and groups that are possibly involved in gambling. The official statement even included a demo on how to use the in-app report feature on WeChat.