Access denied

It’s no secret; Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) have long been used by Asian gamblers to slip under the radar and access offshore casino, poker and betting sites. They are not illegal, and many businesses use them legitimately to bypass the country’s “great firewall”, which blocks material considered to be politically sensitive.

But the Chinese government has recently tightened the noose around VPNs – back in January the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced that developers offering VPNs must obtain a licence from the government. Only now, however, is the impact being felt.

In July, Apple is reported to have removed 60 VPN apps from its Chinese App Store, claiming the developers did not meet the requirements set out by the government.

The push-back has been fierce among developers and those who advocate for freedom of information on the internet.

Nick Hill

Some suggest that Apple has resorted to self-preservation and protecting profits over freedom of access and human rights – the tech behemoth makes much of its hardware in China and has just recently established a new data centre in the country, which is one of its largest markets for product sales.

While the decision to withdraw 60 VPN apps is certainly a blow for online casino players, there are ways around it. Operators need to create smaller, more bespoke sites that cater to specific game verticals, demographics and player types – casual, low limit and VIP, high limit, for example.

These sites should cater to a very small number of players – between five to 20 for VIP’s and larger microsites for the lower level casual players. By keeping the visitation volume so low, the traffic simply won’t be detected.

In China, this is the way operators tend to run their casino sites anyway. It is very different to Europe, of course, where customers access a single, Mothership site.

The key for these operators now is speed and efficiency. They need to establish hundreds if not thousands of sites in the coming days and months, and ensure traffic is redirected to these new casinos, poker rooms, sportsbooks, bingo halls, etc.

Sites also need to be themed – comics, movies, action, anime, adventure, even sexy – in order to attract players.

This means they need to rapidly generate content to suit. It’s a tall order, but many have the experience and infrastructure to pull it off. This, of course, makes online casino in China sound like the Wild West, and in many ways, it is.

It is a prime example of what happens when an activity is not regulated and licensed, particularly when it is being played by millions of people anyway but on the black market.

Regulation brings industries such as online casino out of the shadows and into the light, and in doing so ensures operators and suppliers meet internationally recognised standards when it comes to registering players, separating player funds from operational cash reserves, games offered, and protocols for problem play.

At present, China is reluctant to rollout frameworks for the regulation and licensing of online casino sites. By doing so, they are feeding a thriving and growing black market.

Sure, blocking VPNs will make it more difficult for players to access sites for a while, but operators will soon overcome these hurdles.

Regulation and licensing holds the key to unlocking online gambling in China. It would remove the need for VPNs in the first place, allowing operators to launch safe, secure and highly monitored sites to players, while opening-up an additional tax stream to the government.

It really would be a win-win for everyone.