Law enforcement agencies have investigated more than 740 online gambling cases and arrested more than 3,600 people since starting a “strike hard” campaign against the crime in January, according to the statement. More than 700 million yuan ($102 million) has been impounded, the ministry said.

Just a friendly reminder to keep all your wagers legal and above board….

Bodog has taken aim at the lucrative worldwide Chinese market by recently establishing a Chinese language customer service phone line (1-888-988-6828). Bodog now offers customer service in both Mandarin and Cantonese to its Chinese customers. China’s enormous population represents a huge as yet untapped market for Internet gambling. Companies are already jockeying for position, anticipating when the Chinese government will regulate their online gambling industry.

With both Galaxy and Bodog announcing plans to support Chinese players it can only mean that they are anticipating the upcoming regulation of the Chinese internet gaming market and are positioning themselves to be the first to enter the market. When Francis Lui, the deputy chairman of the Galaxy Entertainment Group spoke about Galaxy entering the Chinese market, he mentioned that to achieve entry into the Chinese market, online operators will have to win the trust of the Mainland government through their ability to manage players and avoid any adverse impact on the community, they also need to be able to address the concerns of China’s regulators over age verification, fraud and gambling addictions.

“Galaxy Entertainment Group is making moves to capitalize on an eventual legalizing of internet gaming in the Mainland,” said Lui, whose company is a Macau gaming concession holder. “Galaxy is very excited by this business opportunity [online gaming in the Mainland] and we have established a foundation through an agreement with an internet cafe operator in China,” he said.

“Most forms of gaming continue to remain outlawed in the Mainland, including online betting, although the Chinese propensity for gaming could eventually see a change in position from the government,” suggested the company executive.

The China mainland has 67 million internet hosts, 167 million internet users and more than 450 million mobile phone users, the deputy chairman presented during the conference’s key-note address.

According to Xinhua news agency, the number of online game players in China rose 23 percent to 40 million last year with sales of online games jumping more than 61 percent to 10.57 billion Yuan.

Just as gaming companies have overcome initial opposition to casinos in jurisdictions such as Singapore, online operators will have to win the trust of the Mainland government through their ability to manage players and avoid any adverse impact on the community, said Mr Lui. In addition, according to gamblingcompliance.com the gaming companies looking to go online in Asia need to urgently address the concerns of China’s regulators over age verification, fraud and problem gambling.