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Read Full BioCourts in Hubei Province, China, have sanctioned Communist Party cadres and other senior officials for gambling-related offenses.
Per the Hubei Province’s official news agency and Xinhua (via Sina), the Hubei Provincial Committee of the party’s special task force and the Province’s Commission for Discipline Inspection reported that the individuals had all violated gambling regulations.
The group included Cheng Yidong. Cheng is a member of the local Communist Party Committee and the Deputy Mayor of Laocheng, Songzi County. Cheng, the party explained, “violated regulations by betting on games of mahjong.”
The Deputy Mayor was found gambling on games of the popular tile-based game during a meeting on the second floor of a farm building on the morning of June 8, 2025. The party said it has issued an internal party warning.
Cadres & Gambling: Chinese Communist Party Sanctions Officials
A similar punishment was also handed out to Li Zhihu, a provincial party secretary and the Principal of Xiachabu School in Xiantao.
Li, the commission said, “repeatedly participated in mahjong games involving financial gains and losses.”
The Chinese Communist Party’s Hubei headquarters handed out a further warning to Fang Meng, another official caught betting on mahjong.
Feng is an employee at the elderly care center of the Civil Affairs Bureau in Xiaonan District, Xiaogan.
On the afternoon of May 16, 2025, the party said, Fang took time off work and cited “family matters.” However, investigators later discovered that Fang was betting on a game of mahjong at a teahouse in the city.
Officials handed a harsher penalty to Wang Guixue, the former deputy secretary of the Qiyi Village Party Branch in Yuyang Town, Qianjiang.
Investigators discovered evidence that from early 2024 to March 2025, Wang “repeatedly used” the WeChat Pay e-payment platform to send money to illegal bookmakers.
Officials explained that the bookmakers offered Wang and others odds on the winning numbers of Hong Kong’s Mark Six lottery. The Hong Kong Jockey Club operates Mark Six, which is not available to residents of Mainland China.
A court ordered Wang to serve a jail term of 11 days and pay a 1,000 yuan ($139) fine. The party also issued him a serious warning.
Party Member ‘Gambled on Card Games’
A fifth individual, Ding Jian, was also fined and issued a warning. Ding works at the Huahu Land and Resources Office at the Ezhou Municipal Bureau of Natural Resources and Planning.
Investigators said they found Ding gambling on card games during work hours at a business address in Ezhou’s Echeng District. A court fined him 500 yuan ($70), with the party also issuing an official internal warning.
In June, the Communist Party’s Gansu Province branch arrested a cadre who was detained for 10 days and fined 1,000 yuan ($139).
Betting on mahjong is commonplace in China. However, in recent years, Chinese police have attempted to crack down on versions of the game that involve money changing hands.
Police in some rural parts of the country say they are now using advanced drone technology to help them locate undercover gambling dens.
Officers say that “forest gambling” is on the rise. This involves groups of bettors holding gambling sessions in remote parts of the nation.
