Inner Mongolia police hold press conference on 2025 cross-border gambling crackdown

The Inner Mongolia Public Security Department set out its 2025 cross-border gambling enforcement results at a press conference on January 9, 2026, held under the banner of the sixth Chinese People's Police Day¹. The department said its officers handled 159 cross-border gambling and related cases during the year, arrested 631 suspects, and seized or froze more than RMB 70 million in involved funds¹.

The figures cover a range of enforcement activity. Police said they collected more than 1,000 gambling-related leads over the year and broke up 21 major cross-border gambling cases, including a special case in Hohhot coded "2·26" and a casino operation case in Baotou coded "4·09"¹. Working with border inspection authorities, officers intercepted and discouraged Chinese citizens from leaving the country to gamble, and with the People's Bank and foreign exchange authorities took restrictive measures against a batch of suspicious accounts tied to gambling¹. With internet and communications regulators, police said they cleared more than 4,000 pieces of illegal gambling information and blocked or intercepted 2,300 gambling website domains and promotional text messages¹.

On prevention, the department said it broadcast anti-gambling publicity films more than 9,000 times during the year and distributed or posted more than 5,000 items of publicity material, using the "Grassland 110" platform to reach communities, pastoral areas, enterprises, schools and households¹.

At the press conference, officials described cross-border gambling as falling into two types: offline travel abroad to gamble, and online gambling¹. Police also said that knowingly providing funds, network access, communications or payment settlement to a gambling crime is treated as being an accomplice to gambling¹. For minor participants below the threshold for criminal or administrative punishment, police said the public security organs will keep a record and may issue criticism and education, and notify the person's employer and residential community¹.

The department said cross-border gambling crime is becoming more concealed and more professionalized, and that enforcement work remains a long-term task¹. It said its next steps are to continue the crackdown with what it called the strictest prevention and control measures and the strongest enforcement¹.

What it means for players

The announcement restates the legal position for anyone in China, including Inner Mongolia: cross-border gambling is prohibited, whether it happens by traveling abroad or through an online platform or app¹. People who only provide money, network access, communications or payment settlement to a gambling operation can be treated as accomplices¹.

The payment side is where the practical effects show. Police said they worked with the central bank and foreign exchange authorities to restrict suspicious accounts, and described gambling funds being moved through purchased bank cards, online banking tokens, phone cards and identity documents, and through layered accounts and "running score" platforms¹. That means accounts and payment channels linked to gambling activity can be limited, and police said losses in such cases are hard to recover¹.

For people whose involvement is minor and below the threshold for punishment, police said a record is kept and the person's employer and residential community may be notified¹. Police also warned about recruitment through fake high-salary job offers, free overseas trips and high-return investment schemes, and about gambling being bundled with fraud and money laundering, including a Tongliao case in which phone credit top-ups were used to move gambling money¹.

What happens next

The department said it will continue cross-border gambling enforcement with stricter prevention and stronger crackdowns, without giving specific dates or targets¹. It said the public can report gambling activity by calling the local 110 number, reporting in person at a local public security office, or submitting information through the "Refuse Cross-Border Gambling" WeChat account¹. Police said informants' identities and privacy will be protected¹.

For the legal position in China, see Can I Gamble in China? and What Happens to Chinese Citizens Who Gamble on Cross-Border Sites?. For how enforcement against players works across the region, see Have Players Been Arrested for Online Gambling in Asia? Cases by Jurisdiction and Online Gambling in Asia: The Law for Players in 12 Jurisdictions. On account restrictions, see Banks, E-Wallets and Frozen Accounts: Gambling Payment Laws in Asia, and for the wider regional picture, Gambling Laws in Asia: What Is Legal in 12 Jurisdictions.