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In the early morning of July 1, the Shanghai Municipal Government announced the 2014 version of the negative list for the free trade zone. The number of special management measures in the new version of the negative list was reduced by 51 from 190 in the 2013 version to 139, a reduction of 26.8%.

        Nine months after the Shanghai Free Trade Zone was established, the 2014 version of the negative list was unveiled.

        At around 2 a.m. on July 1, the Shanghai Municipal Government announced the 2014 version of the free trade zone negative list – “Special Management Measures for Foreign Investment Access in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (Negative List) (Revised in 2014)”. The special management measures in the new negative list have been reduced by 51 items from the 190 items in the 2013 version to 139, a reduction of 26.8%.

        In addition to 14 substantive opening measures, the new negative list also includes a number of bans that are also applied to domestic companies, such as “prohibition on investment in the gambling and pornography industries.”

        Compared with the 2013 version of the negative list, the slimming logic of the 2014 version of the list has become apparent, which includes roughly three items: further expanding opening up, substantially canceling some clauses; merging many clauses into similar items due to adjustments in classification format; reflecting the consistency of domestic and foreign investment, deleting some items that have been prohibited by superior laws or other existing laws.

Logic 1: Further expand opening up, substantially cancel 14 articles, and substantially relax 19 articles

        The 14 management measures that have been substantially cancelled are not concentrated entirely in the service sector, but are evenly distributed, with seven management measures belonging to the service sector and seven to the further opening of other sectors such as manufacturing, which involve mining, marine engineering equipment and other fields.

        For example, the clauses in the oil and gas extraction industry that “investment in the development and application of new technologies to improve crude oil recovery and related technologies must be joint ventures or cooperation” and “investment in the development and application of new technologies for oil exploration and development such as geophysical prospecting, drilling, logging, well logging, downhole operations, etc. must be joint ventures or cooperation” have been cancelled; the clause “restriction on investment in electrolytic aluminum, copper, lead, zinc and other non-ferrous metal smelting” in the commonly used non-ferrous metal smelting has been cancelled. The clause “restriction on investment in the wholesale and distribution of vegetable oil and sugar” in the wholesale industry has been cancelled.

        The 19 management measures that have been substantially relaxed involve 9 in the manufacturing sector, 1 in the real estate sector, 1 in the infrastructure sector, 4 in the commercial services sector, 2 in the shipping services sector, 1 in the professional services sector, and 1 in the social services sector.

        For example, in the C153 refined tea processing, the original “investment in green tea processing with traditional Chinese technology is prohibited” was changed to “investment in green tea production and processing with traditional Chinese technology must be controlled by the Chinese side”. The original “investment in aircraft maintenance (with the obligation to undertake international maintenance market business) projects is limited to Chinese control” in G563 was cancelled. The original “investment in the repair of marine engineering equipment (including modules) must be controlled by the Chinese side” in C351 was cancelled.

Logic 2: “Merge similar items” caused by adjustment of classification method

        The 2014 version of the negative list is still compiled in accordance with the “National Economic Industry Classification and Code”, including 18 industry categories, but the subdivisions of the major and medium categories of the 2013 version have been cancelled, and the categories are uniformly replaced by “fields”.

        Because of this adjustment in classification, the 2014 version of the negative list has 23 fewer items than the 2013 version. In layman’s terms, these 23 items are actually “merged into similar items.”

        For example, in the 2013 negative list, the mining and exploration of “special and scarce coal types” were described in two separate articles, but in the new version of the negative list they were merged into one article.

        Similar items include marine engineering equipment manufacturing and maintenance, civil general aircraft design, manufacturing and maintenance, etc. In the 2013 version of the negative list, maintenance is often listed as a separate item because it belongs to different categories from manufacturing and design.

Logic 3: Reflect the consistency of domestic and foreign investment and cancel the “ban on investment in the gambling and pornography industries”

        It is worth mentioning that the new version of the negative list also deleted the statements “prohibiting investment in the gaming industry (including gambling racetracks)” and “prohibiting investment in the pornography industry”.

        An industry insider said that he believed the new version of the negative list deleted the above two statements because the above two items themselves have been prohibited by other superior laws in China.

        In other words, this type of policy is not only prohibited for foreign companies, but also for domestic companies, so there is no need to make a separate list for foreign companies.

        In addition, the restriction on foreign investment in “Internet access service business premises (Internet cafe activities)” has been substantially abolished. In the “R89 entertainment industry” field of the 2014 version of the negative list, there is now only one item left: “restriction on investment in the construction and operation of large-scale theme parks.”

        There are 14 items of this type that were cancelled in the 2014 version of the negative list because they have restrictions on both domestic and foreign investment.

        A Shanghai-based scholar who studies negative lists told The Paper that the 2014 version of the negative list is still a transitional list. “The opening up of some areas needs to be in line with the country’s major negotiation strategy as a bargaining chip. A considerable portion of the content is mainly concentrated in the manufacturing industry, and there is still room for further opening up.”-MK sports

The global gaming industry’s operating revenue is declining, with the situation in Macau being the most severe.

        According to the latest revenue report released by the Nevada State Gaming Control Board, Nevada’s gaming revenue in October this year was nearly $914 million, a decrease of nearly $41 million from the same period last year (year-on-year), a decline of 4.26%; while from July to the end of October this year, its operating revenue fell by 3.29% year-on-year. In addition, Singapore’s casinos have also experienced a shortage of guests.

        However, the situation of Macau’s gaming revenue is the most serious.

        According to the latest data released by the Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, from the perspective of monthly operating income, Macau’s gaming has been declining for six consecutive months since June this year compared with the same period last year. The decline from June to August was within 10%, with a decrease of 11.7% in September, a decline of 23.2% in October, and a decline of 19.6% in November. This is the largest decline in Macau since relevant statistics began in 2010.

        Sands China and Galaxy Entertainment have had dismal results this year as Macau’s gaming revenue fell for the sixth straight month, according to Bloomberg. Previously, the influx of mainland tourists made Macau the world’s largest gambling center and the two gaming stocks rose more than 500% in the past four years.

        The most obvious reason for the “disappearance” of gamblers and funds from various gambling venues seems to be that mainland gamblers are afraid of anti-corruption investigations and chasing the rise of A-shares.

        Bloomberg quoted Tai Hui, chief market strategist for Asia at JPMorgan Asset Management, as saying that customers who once lingered at the gambling tables have turned to the mainland stock market, with investors engaging in margin trading and short selling, borrowing funds from securities firms to trade stocks using funds or securities as collateral.

        “Consumers who once bet at the gaming table may now be sitting at home trading stocks, and investors are increasing leverage on margin trading, or using a knife to cut down a big tree,” he said.

        He also said that at this time, Macau is tightening the “transit visa” for mainland tourists and cracking down on illegal cash withdrawals in Macau using UnionPay terminals.

        According to a report by the Macau Daily on December 4, Li Fei, deputy secretary-general of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, made a suggestion to Macau on December 3: For the benefit of the motherland, Macau must develop a diversified economy.

        Li Fei said: “The dominance of Macau’s gaming industry is not in the overall interests of Macau. Moreover, Macau’s economy, especially the gaming industry, is closely linked to the mainland. This means that when measuring Macau’s overall interests, we cannot only focus on Macau’s economic growth rate and tax revenue, but must also take into account the economic and social security, stability and development interests of the mainland and the entire country.”

        Li Fei said that the gaming industry has controlled the lifeline of Macau’s entire economy, which is definitely not conducive to the stability of Macau’s economy, society and even government operations; secondly, the market for Macau’s gaming industry mainly lies in overseas tourists, and the dominance of the gaming industry has increased the uncertainty of Macau’s economic development; thirdly, the gaming industry has squeezed the survival and development space of other industries, which is not conducive to the diversified development of Macau’s economy and society; fourthly, the inherent negative factors of the gaming economy affect the social stability and security of Macau and even the mainland.

October 13th was exactly half a year after General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the conference celebrating the 30th anniversary of Hainan’s establishment as a province and a special economic zone. From October 13th to 15th, Hainan held a special training course for leading cadres to re-mobilize and re-deploy the vast number of party members and cadres in the province, and to further study and implement General Secretary Xi Jinping’s “4.13” important speech and the spirit of the Central Document No. 12. Liu Cigui, Secretary of the Hainan Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the Provincial People’s Congress Standing Committee, gave the first coaching report.

On October 17, the Hainan Daily published Liu Cigui’s speech on October 13, “Ten Points of Understanding on Deeply Studying the Spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s Important Speech on April 13.”

The Paper (www.thepaper.cn) noted that Liu Cigui mentioned in his speech, “Some online discussions are about opening casinos, engaging in gambling, liberalizing horse racing, or copying the capitalist system and implementing full private ownership. These are out of touch with national conditions and reality and are absolutely not allowed.”

In the sixth point of his speech, “Understanding of Deepening Reform in Hainan”, Liu Cigui said, “Reform and opening up is the soul of the special economic zone and a key move in the development of Hainan. General Secretary Xi pointed out that the special economic zone should become an important window, experimental platform, pioneer and doer of reform and opening up, requiring Hainan to plan and promote reform from a higher starting point, make great efforts to eliminate the drawbacks of the system and mechanism, continuously liberate and develop social productivity, and strive to provide more replicable and popularizable experiences for the whole country. At present, the complexity, sensitivity and difficulty of our reform are no less than the establishment of the province and the establishment of the special economic zone 30 years ago. There is no way out if we stick to the old ways, and we will miss the opportunity if we shrink back. We must deeply understand General Secretary Xi’s requirements for comprehensively deepening reform, focusing on trial and exploration in the reform of the system and mechanism.”

Liu Cigui mentioned in his speech that Hainan should deepen reforms, focus on trial and exploration in institutional and mechanism reforms, adhere to the combination of emancipating the mind and seeking truth from facts, adhere to problem-oriented and demand-oriented, focus on key points and do a good job in supporting facilities:

“First, we must adhere to the combination of emancipating the mind and seeking truth from facts. General Secretary Xi pointed out that the process of reform and opening up is the process of emancipating the mind; without great emancipation of the mind, there will be no great breakthrough in reform. We must dare to break through the mindset and the rules and regulations of the interest barriers, dare to take risks, dare to be the first, and take the road that others have not taken, so as to reap different scenery. However, emancipating the mind is not a fantasy that is divorced from national conditions, nor is it a subjective imagination behind closed doors, nor is it a reckless and lawless act; the purpose of emancipating the mind is to better seek truth from facts. For example, some discussions on the Internet want to open casinos, engage in gambling, open horse racing, or copy the capitalist system and engage in full private ownership. These are divorced from national conditions and reality and are absolutely not allowed. We must adhere to the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, adhere to the organic unity of emancipating the mind and seeking truth from facts, proceed from national conditions and reality, summarize successful domestic practices and learn from useful foreign experiences, boldly explore and be down-to-earth, dare to take risks, boldly practice, produce more results in institutional and mechanism innovation, and shoulder the responsibility of the special zone.

“Second, we must adhere to problem-oriented and demand-oriented approaches. Reform is not about moaning without illness or reforming for the sake of reform. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that we must adhere to problem-oriented approaches, start with the issues that the masses care about, and change the issues that the masses are dissatisfied with. We must dare to be tough and brave, and have the courage to solve problems and overcome difficulties. We must bite off some more hard bones in eliminating the drawbacks of the system and mechanism and adjusting the deep-seated interest structure. The problem of the business environment is now a prominent problem reflected by enterprises and the masses. The approval procedures are complicated, inefficient, and difficult to deal with. Various “spring doors”, “glass doors”, and “invisible doors” are common, making it difficult for the people and enterprises to do things, and the institutional transaction costs are high. Therefore, we must continue to deepen the “ultra-simple approval” reform under the “multi-regulation integration”, orderly promote the “six pilot” reform measures to the parks across the province, implement the online “one-stop service”, and realize that simple matters, frequently handled matters, and matters that can be shared and realized do not need to be run once; fully implement the enterprise self-registration system and the simple cancellation system to maximize the autonomy of enterprises.

“Third, we must insist on grasping the key points and doing a good job in supporting facilities. Reform is not a one-size-fits-all approach, we must identify and grasp the key points. How to find the key points? General Secretary Xi pointed out that we must persist in finding the drawbacks of the system and mechanism behind the problems that are of general concern to the people, strongly reflected, and recurring, and identify the key points and breakthroughs for deepening reform. At present, our focus is to accelerate the reform of the system and mechanism for urban-rural integrated development, the talent system, the fiscal and taxation system, the income distribution system, state-owned enterprises, agricultural reclamation, and the reform of party and government institutions. In the process of promoting reform, we must also strengthen the systematic integration of reform measures and scientifically allocate resources from all aspects. For example, in the provincial “multi-plan integration” reform, if the land attributes are not accurately identified, the first button will be buttoned incorrectly, and subsequent administrative approvals, project arrangements, and long-term plans will deviate. On the premise of accurately optimizing the ecological protection red line, basic farmland, and urban development boundaries, we must establish a normalized and real-time inspection mechanism and strengthen hierarchical planning control. All future project layouts must not violate the plan. We must start from We will implement the high standards and high quality requirements of the construction of the Hainan Free Trade Pilot Zone one by one, one by one. For example, many of our reform measures are to delegate power, but we should not let it go, but strengthen supervision during and after the event on the premise of “being able to control it”. This must be supported by government big data, to create a credit information platform with complete data, full functions, intelligence and efficiency, and to improve the cross-departmental and cross-field joint incentive mechanism for trustworthiness and joint punishment mechanism for dishonesty. For example, in institutional reform, an important principle is to adhere to optimization, coordination and efficiency, enhance the leadership of the Party, improve the execution of the government, straighten out the relationship between the Party and government institutions, improve work efficiency, ensure smooth and enforceable government orders, and promote cross-field, cross-departmental and cross-level comprehensive law enforcement cooperation under the framework of “multiple regulations in one”, and at the same time, we must coordinate and plan the reform of municipal and county institutions. There are many tasks, tight time and high requirements. We must strengthen coordination and support, complete this reform with high quality, and make new explorations for the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity. “

Later, Liu Cigui concluded, “Reform is a new revolution. It changes the system and mechanism and affects the vested interests. It will not work without real actions. The provincial party committee will clearly support reformers, give important positions to cadres who dare to take responsibility, and create a good social environment and public opinion atmosphere for reform.”-MK sports

Macau, August 1 (China News Service) The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau of the Macau Special Administrative Region Government announced on the 1st that Macau’s gross gaming revenue in July was 8.444 billion yuan (MOP, the same below), a year-on-year increase of 528.1% and a monthly increase of 29.2%, marking the sixth consecutive month of increase.

From January to July this year, Macau’s gross gaming revenue totaled 57.467 billion yuan, up 63.9% year-on-year.

(Macau’s gross gaming revenue in July reached NT$8.444 billion, a six-month increase)

MK sports-Macau passes new gaming law: up to 6 licenses issued, one-to-one operation by gaming intermediariesMacau passes new gaming law: up to 6 licenses issued, one-to-one operation by gaming intermediaries

On June 22, the Legislative Assembly of the Macao Special Administrative Region Government of China officially announced Law No. 7/2022, which was revised from Law No. 16/2001 on the Legal System of Casino Gambling Operations (hereinafter referred to as the Gambling Law). The law was passed by the Legislative Assembly on June 21 and will take effect the day after its announcement.

The revised Gaming Law clarifies that the Macao Special Administrative Region retains the right to operate casino gambling, and other entities operating such gambling must obtain prior approval. At the same time, the casino must be located in real estate owned by the concessionaire.

In terms of the concession system, the revised Gaming Law clarifies that the maximum number of concessions for operating casinos is six, that is, Macau will issue a maximum of six gaming licenses, and prohibits the burdening, transfer or assignment of the operating rights of casinos to a third party in whole or in part under any name, or the transfer or assignment of the concessionaire’s statutory rights and obligations related to casinos, or the transfer or assignment of part of the concession contract status to a third party. At the same time, the concession period for the operation of casinos should be stipulated in the concession contract and shall not exceed ten years, that is, the concession period of the license shall not exceed ten years, and may be extended for up to three years in exceptional circumstances.

In terms of the qualifications of the concessionaire, the revised Gaming Law clearly states that the concessionaire must maintain its financial strength during the concession period and must be subject to continuous supervision established by the Macao Special Administrative Region Government for this purpose. The capital of the concessionaire shall not be less than 5 billion patacas, and the net asset value of its company shall not be less than this amount during the concession period. The concessionaire and shareholders who own 5% or more of its capital shall not directly own any capital of other concessionaires operating casinos and lucky games in the Macao Special Administrative Region, or indirectly own 5% or more of the capital of other concessionaires.

It is worth noting that the revised Gambling Law has made new regulations on the gambling intermediary business. The original Gambling Law only required gambling intermediaries to register with each concessionaire to which they provide services. The new Gambling Law clearly states that each gambling intermediary can only engage in gambling intermediary business within one concessionaire and can only recommend casino lucky gambling activities to the concessionaire by charging commissions, and cannot share the casino’s income with the concessionaire in any way.

According to a report by Macau Daily on June 22, the Secretary for Economy and Finance of the Macau Special Administrative Region, Lei Weinong, pointed out that the intermediary business is to provide gamblers with various conveniences such as transportation, accommodation, catering, and entertainment, and to receive an amount of commission not exceeding the statutory upper limit from the concessionaire in return, and the intermediary is a partnership with the concessionaire. The new “Gaming Law” will “put the role of the intermediary in its proper place”, and the “one-to-one” approach will ensure that the relationship between the concessionaire and the intermediary is clearer, the financial relationship is clearer, and prevent the unlimited expansion of the intermediary. Lei Weinong also said that in the future, there will be a business operation law to make detailed provisions on the future obligations and responsibilities of the intermediary and the supervision methods, and this law is a principled provision.

Previously, according to a report by the Macau Daily News, Macau’s six casino licenses will expire on June 26. The six gaming companies plan to sign an extension contract on June 23, and the gaming operation concession period will be extended to December 31 this year. The six gaming companies will all pay a premium of 47 million Macau patacas.

On June 22, among the six gaming companies, except for MGM China (02282.HK), which was flat with the previous trading day, the other five gaming companies’ Hong Kong stocks all fell. As of the close of the Hong Kong stock market that day, Sands China Ltd. (01928.HK) fell 1.22%; Wynn Macau (01128.HK) fell 1.35%; SJM Holdings (00880.HK) fell 2.56%; Galaxy Entertainment (00027.HK) fell 1.46%; Melco International Development (00200.HK) fell 2.33%.-MK sports

MK sports-Telsey Consulting Group: It is estimated that Japan’s gaming industry generates $23.8 billion in tax revenue for the country each year

Chris Jones’s analysis report titled “The Huge Potential of Japan’s Gambling Market” covers a lot of things, including how much tax revenue the Japanese gaming industry will bring to the government in the future.

Chris Jones, a senior consultant from Telsey Consulting Group, recently published a 44-page analysis report titled “The Huge Potential of Japan’s Gambling Market”. Jones estimates that Japan’s gaming industry will bring $23.8 billion in tax revenue to the country each year, accounting for 0.4% of its total GDP. This is not much different from the proportion of casino tax revenue to total GDP in the United States.

Although 23.8 billion is an optimistic figure, a conservative estimate is that there will be 16.5 billion US dollars, most of which may come from Tokyo, because Tokyo’s market size can build two casinos. One costs 8 billion, and the other spans Tokyo Bay and is slightly smaller. These two casinos will bring the government 10 billion US dollars in tax revenue each year.

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Meanwhile, a $6 billion casino in Osaka would generate $3.8 billion in tax revenue for the government each year if it were put into operation, and building some large regional casinos in Hokkaido and Kyushu would also generate $1.8 billion in revenue for the government each year.

However, Jones said that the development of Japan’s casino industry will also encounter many obstacles. First, the government has set a goal: the number of tourists in the country will exceed 18 million in 2016 and increase to 25 million by 2020. Even if the right to host the 2020 Olympics is obtained, this goal will be difficult to achieve.

Jones also pointed out how city casinos would affect the economic development of surrounding areas. The analysis also mentioned that Japan would take away one-third of South Korea’s gaming market share, which would force South Korea to adopt a more relaxed policy on “local residents’ participation in gambling games.”

MK sports-UK H2 Gambling Capital: Chinese gamblers lost $76 billion in 2013

The upcoming World Cup is a festival for fans as well as gamblers. According to industry statistics in 2013, the global gambling market has reached 440 billion US dollars. Although the scale of legal sports betting is relatively small, about 30 billion US dollars, the scale of illegal sports betting is 20 times that of the legal market. It is estimated that the scale of the entire sports betting industry is as high as 700 billion to 1 trillion US dollars. So where does such a huge amount of gambling funds come from?

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According to data released by the British H2 Gambling Capital Company, Australia is the country with the most gambling losses in the world, with each adult Australian losing more than $1,000 on average in 2013. Singaporeans lost more than $900 per person on average, second only to Australians. Finns ranked third. Due to the large population of mainland China, only a few people can go abroad for legal gambling, so the amount of money lost per capita did not make the top 20.

In terms of overall size, the United States is the world’s largest gambling market. In 2013, Americans lost a total of $119 billion, accounting for a quarter of the world’s gamblers. However, the market share of the US gambling industry has dropped from nearly a third 10 years ago to a quarter. Although the American people have a high participation rate in gambling, the per capita gambling amount is not the highest, and the revenue that American casinos get from individual guests is also much inferior to that of other regions. Mainland China is closely behind the United States. In 2013, its gamblers lost a total of $76 billion overseas, jumping from the 10th largest market in 2011 to the second largest. It is estimated that mainland China will surpass the United States in 2020 and become the largest gambling market.

Since gambling outside of the mainland is illegal except for official lotteries, gambling abroad has become an important outlet for Chinese gamblers. Many Asian countries regard Chinese guests as gods of wealth and try their best to attract Chinese guests, and the generosity of Chinese guests also makes casinos profitable. The biggest profit from Chinese gamblers’ overseas gambling is Macau. Driven by Chinese tourists, Macau’s gambling revenue has hit new highs in recent years, and in 2006 it surpassed Las Vegas, the gambling city of the United States, to become the world’s number one gambling city. According to official statistics from Macau, in 2013, a total of 29.3248 million tourists traveled to Macau, of which 63.53% were Chinese tourists. In the same year, gambling revenue reached US$45 billion, an increase of 18.6% over the previous year. This amount is more than four times the gambling revenue of US$10.396 billion in Nevada, the most developed gambling industry in the United States last year. In addition, Macau’s revenue from each gambler is as high as US$1,354, far exceeding the two major congested cities in the United States, Las Vegas and Atlantic City. Other countries in the Asia-Pacific region have also benefited from this, such as Australia, the Philippines, and South Korea.-MK sports

An illegal online gambling payment platform was set up in the Philippines, 11.8 billion was laundered, and more than 66 million was earned. The main culprit was sentenced to 13 years in prison!

In 2016, Wang worked at a gaming company in the Philippines and was exposed to the Internet payment business. He found that there was a lot of profit in overseas QR code payment, so he spent 40,000 yuan to buy the backend source code of the payment system online, rented a server from Microsoft in the United States for data storage, and tried to do overseas payment business.

In February 2017, Wang found his high school classmates Shan and Gu, and together they went to the Philippines to set up Duobao Payment Company to engage in “fourth-party payment” business. Shan was responsible for technology and Gu was responsible for operations.

Wang targeted illegal websites such as gambling and private lotteries in his business development. Since third-party platforms such as Alipay and WeChat Tenpay have strict regulatory mechanisms, illegal websites cannot access them, which became a business opportunity for “Duobao Payment”.

Duobao purchased a large number of business licenses and account opening permits of companies that were not actually operating through illegal means, and bound bank cards to third-party payment platforms such as Alipay, WeChat, Taobao, Pinduoduo, and Suning.com to open “merchant accounts”. It then connected Philippine gambling websites with third-party payment platforms through payment codes to provide top-up services for gamblers. This type of business is known in the industry as “fourth-party payment.”

When a gambler wants to top up on a gambling website, Duobao Payment will pass the information to a third-party payment platform, which will generate a payment code. After the gambler scans the code and pays, the third-party platform will transfer the money to the “merchant account” applied for by Duobao Payment. Duobao Payment will then transfer the money from the “merchant account” to the gambler’s gambling platform account, thus completing the gambling fund top-up. If the gambler wants to withdraw cash, he or she can do the reverse operation.

In more than three years, Duobao Payment has purchased more than 6,000 sets of company information and opened 1,174 merchant accounts. It has grown from a profit of more than 7 million yuan a year when it first started to an annual profit of nearly 40 million yuan. The office location has also moved from a private house in Manila, Philippines to a high-end office building.

As of the time of the incident, the amount involved in Duobao Payment reached more than 11.8 billion yuan. By charging 0.14%-0.3% in handling fees and account opening fees from the amount recharged by gamblers, the “total profit” was as high as more than 66 million yuan. Wang personally also made an illegal profit of more than 40 million yuan.

After trial, the Intermediate People’s Court of Yiyang City, Hunan Province sentenced Wang to 13 years in prison and a fine of 43.29 million yuan for illegal business operation. The other gang members were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 8 years to 1 year and 6 months and fines of varying amounts.

Article 225 (3) of the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China stipulates that anyone who illegally operates securities, futures, or insurance business, or illegally engages in fund payment and settlement business, without the approval of the relevant state authorities, shall be guilty of illegal business operation.

Upon investigation, it was found that after the defendant built the Duobao payment platform, he obtained a payment channel by opening merchants on the third-party payment platform, and carried out technical docking with illegal websites such as gambling and the third-party payment platform respectively, so that the fund recharge information of the gambling website was connected with the third-party payment platform, and a payment channel was built between the gambling website and the third-party payment platform, so that the fund recharge and withdrawal of gamblers and gambling websites could be completed, realizing the payment settlement of funds.

The defendant’s illegal payment and settlement activities without the approval of the financial regulatory authorities and without obtaining a “Payment Business License” are in line with the provisions of Article 1 (4) “Other circumstances of engaging in fund payment and settlement business” of the “Interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases of Illegal Engagement in Fund Payment and Settlement Business and Illegal Foreign Exchange Trading”, and with reference to Article 18 of the “Minutes of the Symposium on Handling Internet Financial Crime Cases” of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, it should be determined as the crime of illegal business operation.

MK sports-Philippines immigration bureau plans to deport gaming workers by year end

On November 4, local time, Dana Sandoval, spokesperson for the Philippine Bureau of Immigration (BI), said that the authorities plan to deport most of the foreign nationals under temporary supervision in December who were previously found to be working in the illegally operated Philippine offshore gaming companies (POGOs).

The spokesperson said that they hope to repatriate more than 300 foreigners in December, most of whom are from China.

In September, the Philippine authorities arrested/rescued a total of 372 foreign employees working in illegal online gaming companies in multiple operations, of which 27 have been deported. The first batch of 6 Chinese were deported on October 19, while another batch of 21 Chinese were deported on November 2.

“We hope to maximize the implementation of repatriation or deportation to relieve the congestion in our detention facilities,” Sandoval said.

When asked why the deportations were divided into batches, she replied: “We have to wait for their embassy to issue their travel documents, but there is no exact execution time for the third batch of deportation procedures.”

MK sports-The 2022 World Cup will see over $160 billion in bets. Which teams are the most favored?The 2022 World Cup will see over $160 billion in bets. Which teams are the most favored?

The safest bet during the 2022 FIFA World Cup is that the soccer tournament will draw a lot of money from punters around the world. Bettors—both professional and amateur—are expected to place bets on the world’s biggest soccer tournament in excess of the €136 billion (nearly $160 billion, based on exchange rates at the time) that was spent on the 2018 tournament.

Andreas Krannich, managing director of integrity services at sports data provider Sportradar, said: “On average, we expect more than €1 billion in bets per match at the Qatar World Cup. The betting market is developing globally. We expect this figure to be higher than at the Russia World Cup.”

This year’s World Cup will be hosted by Qatar and will open on Friday, November 18. The World Cup is held every four years and is usually held in the summer, but due to Qatar’s hot climate, this year’s World Cup will be held in the fall. The entire schedule will have 64 games, and the final to determine the champion will be held on December 18.

In the United States, where sports betting is legal in 31 states — 19 of which allow mobile sports betting — punters can expect to bet on football like never before.

According to a study released by the American Gaming Association, an estimated 20.5 million adults in the United States will bet $1.8 billion on the 2022 World Cup. With the U.S. men’s national team once again participating in the World Cup, this year is expected to be the year with the most World Cup bets in U.S. history. “It’s safe to say that this will be the most betted soccer event in U.S. gambling history,” said Casey Clark, senior vice president of the AGA. “The world’s largest sporting event will attract more attention than ever before.”

The reason for the high level of attention is simple: 29 US states have launched legal sports betting markets since 2018. In May of that year, just two months before the football championship, the US Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), which effectively made it legal for states to set up their own sports betting markets. At the time, only Nevada (which has had legal sports betting since 1949), New Jersey, and Delaware (which launched a legal sports betting market in June 2018) were operating football betting.

At the Superbook betting station in Westgate, Las Vegas, station manager John Murray also expects this World Cup to set records. “We can be sure that this World Cup will be the largest in the history of American gambling. There is no doubt that this will be the first World Cup after the repeal of PASPA.”

In the long-term betting market, Argentina attracted the most bets as Messi announced that this year would be his last World Cup. “We bet more on Argentina than any other team, including the United States and Mexico,” said John Murray. “It’s really shocking and extraordinary. We pushed the odds of long-term bets from 12:1 all the way to 9:2.”

John Murray says England is generally popular among punters, while France, who won the 2018 World Cup, should receive more bets than Argentina. Five-time World Cup champions Brazil remain the favorite to win, with odds of +325 (or 13:4).

“Some great players can’t even make the World Cup squad because Brazil’s squad is so full,” said John Murray.

The so-called Golden Boot favorites (the player who scores the most goals in the tournament) are also full of familiar names. England’s Harry Kane is 10:1 and France’s Kylian Mbappé is 10:1. Messi’s odds have also dropped from 18:1 to 10:1, which is because he attracts so many bets. As for the Golden Boot underdogs? American player Christian Pulisic is currently 100:1, while Brandon Erickson has the highest odds at 250:1. The “dumb money” or, to put it nicely, the public’s money is betting on Argentina to win it all. The United States has also received quite a few bets. John Murray said: “The public always likes to bet on the United States, and although I would like to see them win the tournament, it is almost impossible. Argentina is the most popular bet here.”

Germany, the 2014 European Championship winner, attracted the third most bettors. From a dollar perspective, the United States and South Korea are the biggest risks for Superbook. Neither team is likely to do well in the tournament, but Superbook will lose millions of dollars. Argentina is a big risk for sportsbooks in terms of what could happen.

John Murray said: “When I think about risk, I only care about teams that I think can actually win. In this case, for the World Cup, Argentina is a risk – they can obviously win the tournament. Uruguay also has the ability to make a big run. “

However, the smart ones don’t usually make long-term bets. Some professional gamblers bet that Canada will beat Belgium in the first match on November 23, but the smartest gambler on the Superbook (which usually bets on football) bet $5,000 on Spain winning the whole game at 9:1.

John Murray said: “Based on his bets, we cut the odds to 8:1. Our odds were probably the best in the city and Spain was always one of the best teams on the field.”

Sportsbook DraftKings is also gearing up for a big move. This will be the company’s first time betting on the World Cup. Johnny Avello, DraftKings’ head of tournaments and sportsbook, also named Brazil as the favorite with odds of +350 (or 7 to 2), attracting the most bets. But Argentina attracted the most money, accounting for 26% of the total volume at odds of +550 (11 to 2). The company’s biggest risk is the United States, with odds of 130 to 1. “It’s not surprising, people want to cheer for their country’s team. The United States is our biggest exposure.”

The countries with the highest odds as underdogs are Saudi Arabia and Costa Rica, both at 800:1.

Soccer has a smaller audience in the U.S. than American football. The National Football Association found that a record 46.6 million Americans said they planned to bet on NFL games this season, up 3% year-over-year and nearly double the number of Americans who bet on soccer games.

While the majority of people surveyed by the AGA (78%) said legal gambling was important, 4.1 million (20%) said they would still gamble through a bookmaker this year. With 19 states still not allowing sports betting, overseas sportsbooks and local bookmakers are also likely to set records at this World Cup.-MK sports-The 2022 World Cup will see over $160 billion in bets. Which teams are the most favored?