Chinese Gambling Scam Artist Deported from Manila

A Chinese national accused of running a gambling and investment racket in Manila is due to be deported from the Philippines, says the Bureau of Immigration. In the latest Asian gambling news, Zhang Fuhui was arrested last week in Manila’s predominantly Chinese district in Soler Street.

It’s alleged that Zhang was running an illegal pyramid scam, as well as an illegal online casinos from the Philippines, targeting Chinese players. The first scam alone is alleged to have bought the scam artist and his two accomplices $242 million. The accomplices, Huang Zhen Xue and Liu Ying, have also been arrested.

The online gambling fraud also managed to rake in an extra 6.3 million yuan, with gamblers turning to the illegal site due to the difficulty of gambling on the Chinese mainland. With the more relaxed Philippines gambling laws, Zhang was able to get away with his scam since April 2012, but has finally been arrested and made ready for deportation.

This is far from the first gambling scam to target Chinese players, with the nations populace big fans of a flutter. However, the Chinese government seems unlikely to lift its ban on gambling in nearly every form. With Macau and Hong Kong the only gambling hubs in China, anyone in the North of the country has a very difficult time finding the right place and right time to have a punt.

That could all be about to change, though, with the licensing of a new casino in Far East Russia. A new gambling zone has been set up in Primorye, the area around Vladivostok, which is close to the Chinese border. As such, Chinese gamblers could find it easier to travel to Russia to gamble.

Meanwhile, Zhang and his accomplices have been placed on an immigration blacklist, preventing them from returning to the Philippines.