The Supreme People's Court (SPC) pledged Friday to show no mercy
in punishing gamblers and preventing gambling by depriving gamblers
of all their illegal gains.
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"Heavy fines will be given to these offenders to deprive them of
all their illegal gains from gambling," said Gao Jinghong, a SPC
judge. The maximum Chinese prison term for gambling is three
years.
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According to a national anti-gambling office, gambling groups and
organizers of sports betting, horse races and other games on the
Chinese mainland will be severely punished.
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People who work in state-owned organizations who gamble and those
who use bribes, public money or embezzled funds for gambling are
also major targets of the clamp down.
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China banned gambling, along with prostitution and drugs, in the
1950s. In recent years, however, a growing number of wealthy
Chinese, especially corrupt officials, are gambling away millions
in casinos outside the Chinese mainland.
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The SPC, the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the Ministry of
Public Security are jointly investigating 22 gambling cases,
including 13 online gambling cases, two cases involving Party and
government officials and state-owned organization chiefs, and two
cases in which Chinese citizens who gambled in foreign
casinos.
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China's anti-gambling campaign had by January broken up more than
1,900 gambling cases and forced more than 80 casinos and small
gambling houses in the neighboring countries out of business.
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Casino gambling remains legal in Macao, which was returned to China
from Portugal in 1999.
(Xinhua News Agency February 26, 2005)