Gambling crime presents new trends and new features Suggestions from industry insiders
Crack down on criminal acts of setting up gambling websites
Our reporter Zhang Chen
After working hard for a whole year, it only takes a few days to lose all during the Spring Festival...During the Spring Festival, gambling and other chaos occur from time to time.
In order to create a good atmosphere in the whole society to say "no" to gambling, many departments have launched crackdowns on various gambling activities in the society.
Strictly investigate online gambling activities
"Before and after the Spring Festival, visits between relatives and friends increased. Some people often get together to play cards and mahjong in order to pass the time or to connect with each other. It is not uncommon, and this behavior has become one of the important factors that corrupt the social atmosphere, disrupt social order, and affect social harmony." Hu Gangke, a staff member of the Research Office of the Rizhao Intermediate People's Court in Shandong Province, said.
Gambling endangers social order, affects production, work and life, and often induces other crimes.
From physical to virtual, from offline to online, gambling in the Internet environment presents different forms and attributes from the traditional ones, with stronger concealment, more diverse forms, and greater social harm.
The one-month "Qinglang · 2023 Spring Festival Network Environment Improvement" special action is underway.
The Central Cyberspace Administration of China continues to clean up gambling information, resolutely shut down illegal websites and platforms that organize gambling transactions during the Spring Festival, and seriously investigates and punishes online gambling in the name of small chess and card games, treasure hunting games, or using functions such as building groups to distribute red envelopes.
At the same time, the Ministry of Public Security has deployed local public security organs to focus on risk prevention and control, combining the characteristics of public security at the end of the year and the beginning of the year and the prominent problems that the people have strongly reported, and intensifying the crackdown on new types of crimes such as telecommunications and network fraud and cross-border gambling crimes.
How high is the illegal cost of participating in gambling?
It is understood that the Public Security Management Punishment Law stipulates that for the purpose of profit, providing conditions for gambling and gambling with a large amount of money is illegal, and corresponding public security penalties will be imposed.
In response to the practice of online gambling crimes, Li Heng, prosecutor of the First Procuratorate of the Shanghai Pudong New Area People's Procuratorate, pointed out that in essence, "for profit" is the primary condition for distinguishing whether a gambling crime is established or not.
If the perpetrator only engages in entertainment activities of the nature of winning or losing a small amount of property, and the main purpose is for entertainment, rather than obtaining money in this way, it cannot be regarded as a gambling crime.
Referring to the Guiding Case No. 105 of the Supreme People's Court of Hong Xiaoqiang, Hong Liwo, Hong Qingquan, and Li Zhirong for opening casinos, and No. 106 of the case of Xie Jianjun, Gao Lei, Gao Erqiao, and Yang Zebin for opening casinos, the "robbery" in the WeChat group "Red envelopes" are generally considered entertainment activities, but if the purpose of establishing a WeChat group is to set up certain rules, use random WeChat red envelopes as a tool for gambling, and take profits from them, it is a typical gambling offender.
Watch out for new gambling crimes
At present, the gambling crimes stipulated in my country's criminal law mainly include the crime of gambling, the crime of opening a casino, and the crime of organizing and participating in gambling outside the country (outside) newly added in the Criminal Law Amendment (XI).
"Comparatively speaking, the crime of gambling shows the characteristics of weak control, loose personnel, and irregular time, while the crime of opening a casino shows a strong organization." Li Heng said.
Judging from the handling of cases by the procuratorial organs, among the gambling crimes prosecuted, the crime of opening casinos accounts for a high proportion, online gambling has become the main form of crime, the criminal chain is long, there are many people involved, and the characteristics of criminal groups are prominent.
Due to the rapid development of the Internet and mobile communications, the crime of opening casinos is also increasing. There are many participants, large-scale funds, strong mobility and concealment, and its social harm is even greater.
In response to the new situation and changes in gambling crimes, the Criminal Law Amendment (XI) increases the penalty for the crime of opening a casino, and increases the crime of organizing and participating in gambling outside the country (outside).
Clarify the boundaries of gambling and entertainment
In recent years, the judiciary has actively carried out special campaigns such as "broken cards" and "strikes against cross-border gambling" in response to the continuous high incidence of crimes that seriously endanger cybersecurity, such as telecommunications and online fraud and online gambling.
According to the cross-border online gambling crime data reported by the Ministry of Public Security in the past two years, the crimes involved Jiangsu, Guangdong, Shandong, Anhui, Hainan, Sichuan, Yunnan and other provinces, as well as overseas countries such as the Philippines, Vietnam, and Myanmar. nation.
Search the Chinese Judgment Documents Network with the keyword "cross-border online gambling". As of the end of 2022, there are a total of 150 judgment documents.
According to the "Special Report on the Characteristics and Trends of Information-related Cybercrime (2017.1-2021.12) Judicial Big Data" issued by the China Judicial Big Data Research Institute, from 2017 to 2021, a total of 282,000 information-related cybercrime cases were concluded by courts at all levels across the country. In 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, the year-on-year increase was 57.18%, 28.43%, 20.90%, and 104.56%, respectively.
How to distinguish between online gambling and online entertainment, and avoid falling into the trap of criminals?
Relevant experts pointed out that if you want not to be blinded by false propaganda, you should not believe that you can make money while entertaining, so that you will not fall into this kind of trap.
When using chess and card game software on the Internet, download it from regular channels. At the same time, all software suspected of gambling has a distinctive feature, that is, it has a relevant cash withdrawal function. If you find software that can withdraw cash or obtain valuable objects , When using it, please do not use it and report it to the public security organ in time.
The "Rule of Law Daily" reporter noticed that in the case of Tang Moumou and other 9 people who opened a casino handled by the Jiangsu procuratorate, the defendant established the "Cloud Top Club" through the grouping function of the platform in the "Depo Circle" app to attract gamblers to use This software is used to play Texas Hold'em in the club. In less than a year, the club has accepted nearly 7 million yuan of bets from gamblers.
Li Heng believes that the establishment of gambling websites and other forms of using the Internet to open casinos should be included in the crime of online gambling, and the establishment of gambling websites should be regarded as a form of online gambling crime that should be severely cracked down. For websites, the standards for determining the "serious circumstances" of gambling funds, profit-taking, and number of participants are appropriately increased, while for those who set up gambling websites and open casinos, the standards for determining serious circumstances are appropriately lowered, so as to distinguish between the two types of behavior The severity of the crime is different, and the punishment should be the purpose of the crime.
While cracking down on punishment, Hu Gangke believes: "It is necessary to extensively carry out publicity and education on the rule of law, eliminate erroneous views, and continuously improve the people's concept of the rule of law and their awareness of obeying the law. At the same time, we must strengthen moral education and guide people to abandon the idea of getting something for nothing." , so that everyone deeply understands the harm of gambling to society and families, and makes people consciously resist gambling activities.” (Rule of Law Daily)