China to crack down on online gambling

China has said it will launch a six-month crackdown on online gambling, saying the growing industry was causing large flows of money out of the country.

The campaign, which will last until August, will be carried out by eight government agencies including the Ministry of Public Security, central bank and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Online gambling "has caused large cash outflows from the country and seriously disturbed social and economic order," said a statement posted on the public security ministry's website Monday.

The campaign aims to "bust a number of syndicates from home and abroad that collude to organize gambling activities on the Internet and severely punish the illegal rings," it said.

Authorities will also clamp down on underground banks and third-party payment platforms that provide cash transfer services for gambling sites, as well as Internet operators that provide web access services, it said.

Agencies – People's Daily Online