China to start blocking gambling sites

Earlier this year, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced that all VPN services would need to obtain government approval, as part of a " clean up” of unauthorised internet connections.

VPNs can be used to access banned sites, with many Chinese citizens able to visit news sites, social media services like Facebook and Twitter and gambling platforms.

Last year, Bet365, the world's largest igaming firm, told iGaming Business it is not operating illegally in China in response to accusations made against the company earlier this week by anonymous short seller Spotlight Research.

In a statement, Bet365 said the note was "self-serving, misleading and inaccurate”, adding that as it does not have an operational base in China, it is not breaking any of the country’s laws related to gambling.

The note alleged that Bet365 is running a gambling website catering to Chinese customers and that this would likely be considered illegal and could be used to evade Chinese capital controls.

Source: GMB / iGaming Business