Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming May 2016 44 makes it completely different from internet gambling, in which the player has his own account with the online casino, and himself places bets. Very few jurisdictions have laws with provisions covering proxy betting, leaving the matter to be dealt with at the discretion of local regulators. Macau, for example, prohibits video streaming from its tables, although some casinos have procedures in place to allow for proxy instructions to be taken via telephone. Sands, whose owner Sheldon Adelson has said he wants nothing to do with online gaming, banned proxy at its Macau casinos in 2014. “Sands China is against proxy betting and has been taking an active stance to mitigate such behavior, this includes prohibition from use of electronic devices at gambling tables,” said the concessionaire in response to an email enquiry from IAG. Wynn issued a similar order for its properties in the city, although it is said to have relaxed the rule since. One thing that makes regulators and operators uneasy about proxy is a lack of knowledge on the source of wealth of the person instructing the proxy. This puts it at odds with the “know your customer” rules that first-world jurisdictions have in place to counter money laundering. Given this unease, it would be natural for proxy betting activity to gravitate towards casinos in more lightly regulated jurisdictions. In the Philippines, for example, casinos are exempt from money laundering laws. Cambodia is often seen as having no rules at all. Of course the most important factor in the whole equation is the attitude of China. As the target market for most Asian proxy betting operations, the People’s Republic bans casino gambling completely. China’s Ministry of Public Security in Beijing did not respond to a request from IAG to explain the national policy. At industry consultants iGamiX, however, Managing Partner Ben Lee says there’s no doubt the central government works hard to block proxy betting sites. “It’s a constant battle between China’s army of internet censors and the online gaming industry,” he says. Chinese netizens can use VPNs to access blocked overseas sites, although the internet police are able to detect VPN- encrypted traffic inside China’s borders and block its destination. A greater cause for concern has been recent raids into Cambodia by Chinese Features police. On one day last October, for example, officers from the forces of both Cambodia and China arrested 168 Chinese nationals in Sihanoukville, before flying them back to China. The charge given was running an internet scam to defraud victims in China. But many of those arrested were working at casinos, leading to speculation that the raid’s real target was online gaming operations selling into China. Reports said the operation prompted an exodus of Chinese workers, tourists and investors from the town, who feared they too would be arrested in subsequent swoops. In the Philippines, China has recently forced the repatriation of Chinese nationals working in the online gaming industry by cancelling their passports, and then telling Philippine immigration police where to go and find them. Shaun McCamley says he never came under pressure fromtheChinese government to stop the proxy operation at Ho Trambefore he stopped working there last fall. “If we had we would have stopped immediately,” he says. “Why would you want to make an enemy of the Chinese government?” Vietnam has more fluent Chinese speakers than Cambodia or the Philippines who, unlike Chinese nationals, would be able to man proxy betting operations there without fear of being hunted down by the Chinese government. This, along with other factors, may make Vietnam the preferred location for future proxy betting casinos. Vin Narayanan says he’s not aware of the authorities in China openly targeting proxy betting or even arresting anybody issuing instructions to a proxy outside China. “It’s much more difficult to police than, say, people and money moving in and out of Macau,” he says. “But I wouldn’t rule out a crackdown in the future. As the behavior of gamblers changes the law and government are the last to react, but when they do they react with force.” An industry consultant familiar with Hong Kong says he knows a gentlemen’s club in the city where TV screens, in karaoke rooms with hostesses serving drinks, can switch channel to access proxy betting at a Manila casino. The owner of the club, the consultant says, has several similar operations running in mainland China.