Chinese police say illegal gamblers are “flocking to” remote mountains and forests to wager on card games and rounds of mahjong.
But officers say they are wise to the new trend of what they call “forest gambling,” and are responding with raids and increased surveillance.
In their latest raids, police said they shut down a clandestine gambling den, where they arrested a dozen suspected gamblers, the Chinese media outlet YNTV2 reported.
In Yunnan Province’s Huize County, an area famous for its grass-covered mountains, meadows, and nature reserves, police officers told a media outlet that they seized about $900 in cash from a card-betting ring.
“We discovered a gambling den in a ravine deep in the woods,” an officer from Kuangshan Police Station said. “We surrounded the area and apprehended all 12 suspects while they were still sitting at a makeshift gambling table.”
Detectives said courts have already handed out undisclosed punishments after finding all 12 guilty of illegal gambling.
Police in Yunnan conducted a previous series of raids on gambling rings in May this year.
Chinese Forests Becoming Betting Havens, Say Police
In nearby Anning, famous for its hot springs, natural parks, and mountains, officers said they arrested a group of gamblers in the back room of a restaurant.
Officers said they confiscated cash worth over $2,800 and had swooped after a member of the public filed a report.
Police explained that they have charged 11 people with gambling-related charges. The ring’s suspected ringleader will face additional charges.
Meanwhile, police in Loudi, Hunan Province, are continuing a nationwide crackdown on clandestine video game arcades that offer gambling services.
China is in the grips of a fishing machine game craze.
The large, multiplayer machines see players use digital water cannons to shoot at virtual fish and other sea creatures that swim across a screen at various speeds.
Some arcade owners secretly let patrons pay a stake to compete against other players. The highest point scorers scoop the pot, with the arcade owners taking a cut each time.
In their latest raid, Loudi police arrested 45 people in four separate locations, the city’s Public Security Bureau reported.
Police said they confiscated 20 “gambling devices,” including several “fishing machines.”
“Gambling is illegal and not only easily leads to personal financial losses, but also causes various other illegal and criminal activities,” said a Loudi Public Security Bureau spokesperson.
The official said law enforcement agencies would “continue to crack down on gambling-related activities” in the area.
Police Begin ‘Summer Offensive’
In the mountainous Hunan Province, officials in suspected gambling hotspots like Ningyuan County have embarked on a “summer offensive” that targets illegal gambling rings.
The county’s public service bureau said its campaign has seen police “severely crack down on gambling-related crime.”
This summer, the bureau says it has “dismantled” seven gambling dens and arrested more than 60 people on gambling-related charges.
A spokesperson said the bureau is also running a series of anti-gambling publicity campaigns in various communities.
In their efforts to evade police detection, gamblers are congregating in public cemeteries and abandoned buildings.
Officers have responded by expanding their network of informants and investing in drone technology.
