China ready to cooperate with Philippines on illegal offshore gambling

BEIJING - China is ready to fully cooperate with the Philippines to deal with illegal offshore gambling in the Philippines, the Chinese Embassy in Manila said on Wednesday.

China helped Manila shut three illegal gambling zones and repatriated nearly 400 Chinese citizens, the embassy said, also urging the Philippines to take strong measures to crack down on such activities.

"Crimes induced by online gambling harm not only China's interests and China-Philippine relations, but also the interests of the Philippines. It was discovered during the law enforcement cooperation that some illegal offshore gaming employees abused Philippine judicial procedures by fabricating cases in the Philippines to avoid repatriation. China is willing to further cooperate with the Philippines in dealing with such situations to ensure laws are enforced and justice served," the embassy said in a statement.

"Meanwhile China calls on the Philippines to take strong measures to crack down on crimes related to POGOs [Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators] and root out the social ills in a sweeping manner," it added.

"The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines will continue to strengthen communication and cooperation with the Philippine government and law enforcement agencies in this regard, and jointly handle repatriation among other related issues," the statement further read.

The embassy said "any form of gambling, including online gambling and overseas gambling by Chinese citizens, is illegal" under Chinese laws.

"In recent years, the law enforcement agencies of China and the Philippines have maintained good communication and coordination, jointly carried out operations to severely crack down on cross-border gambling, telecommunications and online fraud with tangible results," it said.

"The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines has maintained close communication and collaboration with the Philippine side in these operations to crack down on cross-border crimes and at the same time has protected the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens in accordance with the law," the embassy added.

"So far this year, the Chinese side has assisted the Philippine side in cracking down on three illegal offshore gambling parks and promptly repatriating nearly 400 Chinese citizens back to China after identity verification," it said.

"Relevant agencies from both sides expressed satisfaction with the results of law enforcement cooperation," the statement further read.

Offshore gambling emerged in the Philippines in 2016 and grew exponentially, as operators capitalized on the country's liberal gaming laws to target customers in China, where gambling is banned. —Reuters