Is Gambling Legal in China in 2025?

Gambling in China reflects a broader conundrum. It’s a communist state that plays the capitalism game like a seasoned pro.

Its leader, Xi Jinping, calls for “common prosperity” from a country with more billionaires than any other (814 compared to 800 in the US).

In a similarly paradoxical style, the official Chinese government line on gambling is:

“The Chinese government has always firmly opposed and cracked down on all forms of gambling. According to Chinese laws, any form of gambling, including online gambling and overseas gambling by Chinese citizens, is illegal.”

The city welcomed 34.9 million visitors in 2024, up by 24% from a year ago

But try telling that to the 34.9 million Chinese tourists who made the short hop from mainland China to Macau by ferry, plane, or the Hong Kong Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (the longest open sea fixed link in the world) in 2024.

The economy might be sluggish in China, but sometimes, adverse financial conditions encourage more risk-taking.

Table of Contents Table of Contents

1. Gambling in China: The Gray Area
2. Prohibition: Battling the Hydra
3. Gambling in Macau: Asian Gambling Mecca
4. Money Talks: Gambling Boosts Macau's GDP
5. Lottery in China: A Legal Way to Win 1M Yuan
6. China's Ancient Gambling Dynasty
7. The Bottom Line
8. FAQs
9. References

Show Full Guide

Table of Contents

1. Gambling in China: The Gray Area
2. Prohibition: Battling the Hydra
3. Gambling in Macau: Asian Gambling Mecca
Show Full Guide
4. Money Talks: Gambling Boosts Macau's GDP
5. Lottery in China: A Legal Way to Win 1M Yuan
6. China's Ancient Gambling Dynasty
7. The Bottom Line
8. FAQs
9. References

Gambling in China: The Gray Area

In 2024, China intensified its crackdown, taking a series of stringent measures to combat both domestic and cross-border gambling.

The Ministry of Public Security oversees regulatory developments, monitoring the grey area between lawful gaming (fun games) and gambling.

For example, in 2023, China’s $45 billion video gaming sector was stung by rules restricting spending on online games (items, power-ups, etc.) and banning lucky draws and bonuses for players who log on regularly.

China is the world’s biggest gaming market, but the industry has frequent run-ins with the government. It appears to be getting further away from running regulated online casinos like the rest of the world does.

Prohibition: Battling the Hydra

Is online gambling legal in China? Despite its prohibition, Chinese police are fighting an uphill battle against illegal online gambling.

In 2024, authorities pulled the plug on more than 4,500 gambling platforms, as well as investigating 73,000 cross-border gambling cases. More than 11,000 suspects were arrested, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

In September 2023, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered an immediate ban on more than 400 Chinese-run Philippine offshore gaming operators.

But, like a multi-headed, self-replicating Hydra, the operations simply relocated.

The illegal, unregulated online gaming industry in China is also giving fraudsters a field day, with scammed ‘winning’ punters slowly realizing they will never get to enjoy their winnings.

If you drive a betting business underground, criminals take control of the wheel. It’s not good for the passengers.

Gambling in Macau: Asian Gambling Mecca

In this land of contradictions, it’s no surprise that gambling is illegal on the Chinese mainland, but what about Macau, the Chinese gambling city?

Macau has 41 casinos, and all the major players are in town: Sands, MGM, Melco, and Wynn.

All the major hotels and Macau casinos sit on the Cotai Strip: a huge stretch of reclaimed land, not dissimilar to the Las Vegas Strip. It truly is the gambling capital of Asia.

Money Talks: Gambling Boosts Macau’s GDP

Thanks to gambling, Macau citizens pay negligible income or property tax, and all receive an annual cash payment.

In 2024, visitors to Macau were still at about 75% of pre-pandemic levels and gambling revenues were at 80% of their pre-COVID numbers.

In 2024, Macau’s economy grew by 27.2%, making it one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. Macau’s GDP per capita was projected to exceed $75,000 in 2024, up from $69,000 in 2023, reflecting the region’s robust economic recovery.

This year, Beijing has cracked down on Macau’s illegal money exchanges to prevent gamblers from circumventing the Beijing government’s strict controls on capital flight and cross-border gambling.

Several junket-promoting businessmen have been arrested for facilitating trips for high rollers from mainland China to Macau.

Lottery in China: A Legal Way to Win 1M Yuan

The China Welfare Lottery was first introduced in 1987 to raise money for social welfare and construction projects. The benefit to society blurred the fact it is still a form of gambling.

The lottery comes in 50 different formats and is available across approximately 85% of mainland China.

In 1990, the Asian Games were held in Beijing, and the government allowed a sports lottery to raise funds.

By 1994, the management of the state lottery was chaotic, with no regulatory laws introduced until 2009.

Regional governments were selling tickets without central government approval. The system was being abused and corrupted.

The cards, with names like China Red, Joyful Encounter and Good Luck Tenfold, are so popular, with all demographics, that suppliers are struggling to keep up with demand.

In January 2024, the Ministry of Finance announced a 73.3% year-on-year increase in lottery ticket sales, with total combined lottery sales surpassing 57.56 billion yuan ($8.1 billion).

The Welfare Lottery increased by 81.6%. The Sports Lottery increased by 69.2%. The sale of the newly-introduced scratch cards is believed to have driven the increase.

China’s Ancient Gambling Dynasty

The overwhelming popularity of the lottery gives oxygen to the perception that Chinese people love to gamble.

One thing that is indisputable is that China has a long, deep, and often controversial relationship with gambling.

The origins of gambling in China are ancient, beginning as its civilization evolved.

Chinese gambling took hold in the Han Dynasty (202 BC to 9 AD) when commoners saw gambling less as a cultural pastime and increasingly as a route to prosperity.

China is also credited with inventing playing cards during the Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD). The traditional game Mahjong has fans around the world.

Clearly, China has a track record of creating great games, but gambling remains in a gray area, loved by millions, but banned by the government.

Even Confucius was ambivalent about gambling, saying:

“People who gamble are better than those who have nothing to do.”

Gambling in China is historically both popular and controversial; it is often outlawed but always available in underground establishments. Prohibition – once again – is proving ineffective.

The Future of Gambling in China: Yin or Yang?

In 2025, gambling in China is illegal and risky, but Beijing can see what is happening in Macau.

It’s a betting behemoth and revenue-generating giant that cannot be ignored.

The ever-increasing popularity of the state lottery, combined with a cultural bent towards gambling, is another strong argument for regulated gambling. Prohibition has never worked.

The Bottom Line

If the Chinese government can regulate and control gambling while emphasizing the need for social responsibility, it is possible to imagine a route to a tightly regulated, government-controlled betting environment.

At the end of the day, who would have thought a communist country would become a capitalist phenomenon?

If ‘state capitalism’ allows free market economics to thrive, why can’t this pragmatic political approach apply to a potentially lucrative gambling sector?

Has anyone got a fortune cookie?

FAQs