|
Stephen Wong, a contributor to Asia Times Online, recently published an article suggesting that government employees and officials are turning to gambling online as result of recent restrictions.
The online publication noted that Beijing's attempts to stem gambling with public funds by Communist Party officials and government bureaucrats seem to have made little headway. Mr. Wong goes on to explain his assumptions by citing a few examples. Those arrested for Internet gambling on sports, horse races and lotteries in six online casinos recently were government officials and leaders of state-owned firms.
The political leaders of China have created many campaigns against gambling bureaucrats in an effort to curb the corruption which is eroding the public trust in the government, says Wong. A quote from the article said, “A 2008 study of 99 high rollers from mainland China showed that 59 had some sort of state affiliation: 33 were government officials, 19 were senior managers at state-owned enterprises and 7 were cashiers at state businesses, according to the study, which was conducted by Zeng Zhonglu, a professor at Macau Polytechnic Institute.”
The author went on to say, “This prompted the government to impose visa restrictions on government officials last year. The new regulations limit a mainland official to only a single, seven-day trip in at least three months.”
China's lawmakers are doing what they can to make it harder for these officials to gamble with public money unchecked. Some propose harsher penalties for those caught. Wong thinks this will do little to curb old habits. “To stop gambling and gambling-linked corruption, China needs a free press and an independent judicial system to expose the wrongdoing of public officials. While heavy-handed campaigns can curb gambling for a while, to root out gambling and corruption by officials, Beijing needs political reforms.”
Back to Lastest Gambling News
Back to Gambling
News Archive
Back to Gambling News - August 2009 Archive
|
7Sultans
Casino
