Curbing Online Gambling

Curbing Online Gambling

China Youth Daily June 22

Online gambling is becoming increasingly rampant. An online gambling case recently uncovered in Fuzhou, southeast China’s Fujian Province, involved 25 suspects and over 840 million yuan ($127 million).

The feature of sending and collecting socalled “red envelopes” through the leading instant messaging app, WeChat, has provided a new way for people to present each other with the traditional money-bearing gift during festivals. The function, however, has been exploited by some to facilitate gambling.

Compared with traditional casinos, online gambling is more covert. Some of it takes place on legal platforms and can hardly be identified as gambling without solid evidence. Young people are more likely to be lured into online gambling, as it has a comparatively low entry cost. Sometimes, people are even enticed into such gambling by being allowed to participate without money.

To curb the problem, the permanent shutting down of online platforms involved in gambling is unrealistic. Such a solution is overly simplistic and may affect users’ lawful use of the platforms. Instead, the problem, which has arisen due to the advance of technology, should be solved using technical means. The monitoring of WeChat groups through which red envelopes are sent frequently, for instance, should be strengthened.

In addition, although online platforms are not to blame for illegal gambling, Internet companies have a responsibility to strengthen supervision and management of their platforms and to crack down on the issue in collaboration with government departments. Internet companies are best-placed to detect online gambling, as they possess the core technologies and evidential data.

BASKETBALL CENTER DRAFTED BY NBA

Chinese big man Wang Zhelin was selected by the Memphis Grizzlies of the American National Basketball Association (NBA) on June 24.

Another Chinese player, Zhou Qi, was drafted by the Houston Rockets the same day.

Wang, 22, became a professional player in 2012 and joined the Chinese team in 2013. He is a key member of the Fujian Sturgeons, a team in China’s top league, the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).

The 2.14-meter (7-foot) center started to make headlines in April 2012 for his outstanding performance at the Nike Hoop Summit, an annual, all-star tournament featuring a team of international players (the World Select Team) playing against the USA Basketball Men’s Junior Select Team. Wang scored 19 points and 8 rebounds to help the World Select Team to an 84-75 victory over the USA Select Team. This was the best performance by any Chinese basketball player at the event.

Both Wang and Zhou will be playing for China at the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Brazil.

“China’s investment is expanding Africa’s horizon, and this is good for Africa as its total stock of investments are increasing.”

Kwame Owino, CEO of Kenya’s Institute of Economic Affairs, speaking about China’s investment in Africa during a China-Africa round table in Nairobi on June 28

“The tribunal said it would not try to settle sovereignty disputes, but only to determine geological features. However, the Philippines’claims will eventually lead to the question of who owns it, and the tribunal has no jurisdiction over this matter.”

Pemmaraju Sreenivasa Rao, former Chairman of the UN International Law Commission, questioning the Manila-initiated South China Sea arbitration at a recent seminar in The Hague