Illegal gambling | Beijing’s underground casinos exposed

Several illegal underground casinos located in Beijing have been exposed to the mainland public after Chinese journalists visited unannounced and produced reports on the gambling hubs.
The revealed casinos were mostly hidden in high-end apartments, and were generally protected by several layers of security.
Each casino has its own actors pretending to be gamblers in order to encourage other players to continuously bet money on the games. Future visitors were required to be introduced by frequent gamblers. High-interest loans (loans came in chip form, carrying a 0.5 percent daily interest rate) were provided once the gamblers had lost everything they came with. Gamblers could even mortgage their properties to continue gambling.
The report said that recently there have been three to five underground casinos operating in Beijing, with some of them located in the suburbs. It said that usually these casinos have approximately five shareholders, who likely hold shares in a few active illegal gambling places in Beijing.
Staff working at these places could earn RMB300 to RMB500 per day. Dealers could enjoy one percent of the company’s profits in addition to their daily payment. Each gambler would also be granted RMB500 to RMB1,000 for introducing another customer. In order to retain the gamblers’ interest, the underground casinos would only operate two runs per day.
The shareholders reportedly have a monthly income in the order of several millions, and they were known to change the location of their operations every once in a while.
Both mainland and Hong Kong media have nicknamed these casinos “little Macau.”
The Beijing Police Authority has already commenced investigations.