ASEAN, China partner to fight organized gambling crime

With the assistance of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), officials from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China have developed a strategy to address regional illicit activities associated with gaming in Southeast Asia.

The programme was unveiled in Bangkok, Thailand under the name “Regional Cooperation Roadmap to Address Transnational Organised Crime and Human Trafficking in Persons Associated with Casinos and Scam Operations in Southeast Asia.” It makes 30 recommendations for concrete steps to fight human trafficking and transnational organised crime that are related to casinos and fraud.

Rules and laws regulating casinos, gambling, online betting, and associated businesses should be reformed and strengthened to avoid their use for organised crime, including cybercrime. Additionally, the strategy suggests creating resources to investigate any connections between organised crime and casino investors, internet marketplaces, junket businesses, and special economic zones.

The strategy also advocates spending money to improve financial and technology literacy, especially in poor areas where gangs with connections to casinos and scams are more likely to operate.

In Southeast Asia, notably in Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar, transnational organised criminal gangs are becoming a rising concern that engage in gaming and fraud. These organisations engage in sophisticated internet scams that deceive people worldwide, often utilising trafficking victims for unlawful ends. They do this by using the already-existing casino infrastructure and the high levels of unemployment throughout the globe.

In view of the reality that these crimes often transcend international borders and that individual nations are unable to effectively handle the problem on their own, the strategy emphasises the necessity for a coordinated regional response.

In light of the increase in human trafficking connected to organised criminal organisations in the Mekong area, Jeremy Douglas, the UNODC’s regional director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, emphasised the urgent need for regional collaboration.

China has actively engaged in bilateral agreements with Southeast Asian countries to improve cooperation in fighting transnational illicit gaming operations. The public security ministries of China and Vietnam recently signed an agreement of cooperation to curb “cross-border gambling” operations, highlighting the region’s continued efforts to address these challenges.

Original story by: GGRAsia