In practice however, Chinese citizens participate in state-run lotteries, regularly travel to legal gambling centers overseas or in the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau and access gaming through offshore based proxy betting and online gambling companies.
Any form of gambling by Chinese citizens, including online-gambling, gambling overseas, opening casinos overseas to attract citizens of China as primary customers, is considered illegal. Gambling in China is illegal under Chinese law and has been officially outlawed since the Communist Party took power in 1949. Advertising for China's state-run Welfare Lottery outside a convenience store in Shanghai. For gambling in the Republic of China, see Gambling in Taiwan.
