Chinese Man Jailed for Operating Illegal Fishing-Themed ‘Gambling Pond’

A court in China has jailed a man for running an illegal fishing-themed “gambling pond,” and failing to deliver payouts when a patron hit the “jackpot.”

Per the Jiangsu-based newspaper Yangtze Evening News, a court in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, has warned the public “not to take part in fishing-related gambling operations.”

Prosecutors in Wuxi say the man (surnamed Ji; given name withheld for legal reasons) bought an ailing angling pond at the end of 2022.

Fishing Pond Became ‘Gambling Den’

Ji then spent hundreds of dollars worth of yuan on buying “tens of thousands of kilograms of black carp” to populate the pond.

But despite his investment, visitor numbers remained low and the pond’s revenues were sluggish.

When one of his customers suggested incentivizing successful catches, Ji and his sister responded with enthusiasm.

The duo responded by introducing “new fishing rules” in June 2023, prosecutors told the court.

These involved capping the number of fishing spots at the pond at 32. He then charged patrons admission fees that rose as high as 1,880 yuan ($264), promising to pay anglers cash prizes if they caught certain “special” carp.

Prizes started from 500 yuan ($70), with catches of rarer fish rewarded with cash prizes worth thousands of yuan.

One elusive carp was named the “Golden Dragon.” If patrons caught this fish, Ji promised, they would receive a 158,000 yuan ($22,211) prize.

The new “business model” proved an instant hit, the court heard. Ji and his sister collected over 470,000 yuan ($66,073) in admission fees over the course of just three months.

But Ji ran into trouble when a patron claimed to have caught the Golden Dragon and asked the pond operator to make good on his promise.

The duo argued about the validity of the catch, with the patron eventually calling the police. Officers immediately launched an investigation.

A district court in the city ruled that Ji and his sister had charged admission prices “far exceeding market prices.”

It also ruled that the defendants had violated gambling laws, using the fishing pond as “a venue for gambling.”

Operation Was Distinctly Casino-Like, Says Judge

The presiding judge equated the operation to “running a casino.” The court jailed Ji for a year and issued an undisclosed fine.

Ji’s sister, who was in charge of accountancy and admissions at the pond, received an eight-month suspended sentence and a fine.

The judge explained that the case “differed from traditional gambling.” But the court noted that the “high ticket prices and substantial rewards” were designed to lure anglers into speculative activities.

This, the judge concluded, meant the pond “aligned with the characteristics of a casino.”

Last month, courts in Hubei Province sanctioned Communist Party cadres and other top officials after finding them guilty of gambling-related offenses.

Police also think that many gamblers are creating illegal dens in remote parts of the country, where police patrols are rare.

They have dubbed this activity “forest gambling.” Police in some parts of the country are now using drone technology to hunt gambling dens and combat the rise of this new phenomenon.