Answer in one line: Yes — most gambling is prohibited in China. A casual punter who bets a small amount usually faces an administrative penalty, but organising gambling, running a betting operation, or organising Chinese citizens to gamble abroad can be a crime under Article 303 of the Criminal Law.

Is gambling a crime or just an administrative offence?

China deals with gambling on two levels: the Criminal Law punishes the organisers, while the Public Security Administration Punishments Law punishes the players.

Article 303 of the Criminal Law (as amended in 2021) has three parts:

  • Whoever, for profit, gathers people to gamble or makes a living by gambling faces up to three years of imprisonment, criminal detention or control, plus a fine.
  • Whoever opens a casino faces five years or less; where the circumstances are serious, five to ten years, plus a fine.
  • Whoever organises Chinese citizens to gamble outside mainland China, where the amount involved is huge or there are other serious circumstances, is punished under the casino provision.

The third paragraph was added by the Criminal Law Amendment (XI) in 2021 specifically to target cross-border gambling.

What counts as “gathering people to gamble”?

The 2005 judicial interpretation on gambling crimes (Fa Shi [2005] No. 3) sets the thresholds: organising three or more people to gamble with a rake-off of 5,000 yuan or more, gambling funds of 50,000 yuan or more, or 20 or more participants is treated as gathering people to gamble. Organising ten or more Chinese citizens to gamble abroad and taking a cut also qualifies. Under the same interpretation, setting up an online gambling website — or acting as an agent who accepts bets for one — is treated as opening a casino.

What about online betting and overseas casinos?

This is where cross-border cases concentrate. Because Article 303 now expressly covers organising Chinese citizens to gamble abroad, an operator whose servers sit overseas can still be prosecuted if the business targets mainland players. Mainland China has no legal casinos. A player who simply wires money to an offshore site is normally handled administratively — under Article 82 of the Public Security Administration Punishments Law (2025 revision, effective 1 January 2026), providing conditions for gambling for profit, or participating with relatively large stakes, brings up to five days’ detention or a fine of up to 1,000 yuan; serious cases bring 10 to 15 days’ detention plus a 1,000 to 5,000 yuan fine.

What does this mean in practice?

Illustrative scenario: an entrepreneur abroad runs a betting platform that takes wagers from mainland residents, with the servers and the operator outside China. He assumes he is safe — until he travels to China on business and is detained on suspicion of opening a casino, because the conduct targeted the Chinese market. A foreign manager who helps such a “gaming company” recruit mainland agents can be drawn into the same case.

The takeaway: treating gambling as a purely overseas matter is risky for anyone with China connections — organisers face prison, and even players risk detention and fines.

Wang Guan | Co-founder, Beijing Haolue Law Firm | +86 17813108512