Online gambling has emerged as a lucrative sector in Southeast Asia, luring in foreign investors and capital across the region. Consisting of live casino games, online gaming machines, and sports betting, the sector is primarily driven by offshore Chinese gamblers. By setting up operations in states with liberal gaming laws, they effectively evade China’s stringent ban on gambling activities.

However, amid rising criminal activity and illicit financial flows, Southeast Asia’s booming online gambling sector has resulted in economic and political losses for the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). This can be attributed to the transnational nature of online gambling, lax governance at the national level, and ASEAN’s fractured regulatory environment. While countries initially viewed the sector as a surefire solution for post-pandemic recovery, online gambling’s risks have been made apparent, precipitating legislation in countries like Indonesia, Singapore, and Laos that seek to crack down on these operations.

In full: https://thediplomat.com/2024/08/cutting-losses-southeast-asias-crackdown-on-online-gambling/