It is no secret that gambling in China is a very popular activity. However, the leaders of this country are often seen to be doing what they can to stamp out gambling tourism and other gambling activities. Despite this, a panelist at a recent Global Gaming Expo Asia webinar indicated that China could be on track to considering legal gambling. Below, we look at how this might happen and what the affiliate marketing landscape currently looks like in China.
Legal gambling in 10 years
CEO and Owner of Global Betting & Gaming Consultants, Warwick Bartlett recently took part in a panel at the Global Gaming Expo Asia and had an interesting take on the situation in China. He said: I believe that China will, within 10 years, legalize gambling within their own borders.” He also noted that “The reason I believe this will happen is because you can’t continually criminalize ordinary people’s behaviour.”
This comes as China has been attempting to wipe out gambling but hasn’t seen much success. Gambling in China has been illegal under the law since 1949. This includes both land-based and online gambling for all citizens. Anyone who opens a casino overseas with the intention of attracting Chinese citizens can also face legal action.
Based on historic precedents, legalising gambling in this country and regulating it could be the better move over the current practice. Evidence to suggest that this might be something China is considering comes from a recent threat to blacklist countries that encourage Chinese tourism. This threat did not include Macau and Bartlett also believe that those who own horses in Beijing might sway the government.
Affiliate Marketing in China
If gambling were to be legalised in China, affiliates must be ready to take action right away. The affiliate marketing industry in China is one that has been growing for many years but the focus is on e-commerce platforms.
Some of the biggest players in affiliate marketing right now include Linktech, DuoMai, Chanet, YiQiFa and LinkHaiTao. Chanet is an affiliate program that focuses on various niches including entertainment, networking, travel, education and recruitment. This, alongside its zero-upfront costs makes this network very attractive to newcomers in the industry.
Opportunities for affiliates
While gambling is illegal in China, it is legal to move shares and assets, meaning that the forex market is legal. For this reason, affiliates hoping to tap into the Chinese market could consider becoming a forex affiliate for now.
However, if China does go ahead with legalising and regulating gambling products, there could be many more opportunities in the future. Affiliate marketing is already a huge industry in this country and so it goes without saying that a freshly regulated iGaming industry could create many more opportunities.
According to research, around 33.8% of Chinese citizen shop online and 30.5% pay online. This indicates a good market for those hoping to promote an affiliate business. In our opinion, China is a market to watch over the next few years.
