China has a deep, ancient gambling culture, but almost all of it is illegal today. Games of chance have been played for centuries and mahjong remains woven into family and festival life, yet the modern state bans gambling and treats it as a criminal matter. The one sanctioned outlet is the pair of government lotteries, which are booming, framed officially as charitable fundraising rather than gambling. Macau and Hong Kong, with their own legal frameworks, are separate and not covered here.

A Long History, a Hard Ban

Gambling has ancient roots in China, and mahjong, developed in the mid-to-late Qing dynasty (1644-1912), became a national pastime. After the People’s Republic was founded in 1949, gambling was outlawed, and mahjong itself was discouraged and even suppressed during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) as part of ‘old culture’ associated with gambling. The modern legal position is set out in Criminal Law Article 303 and later amendments, which criminalise running gambling operations and organising citizens to gamble abroad.

The Games People Actually Play

Despite the ban, gaming is everywhere in social life:

  • Mahjong — the cultural centrepiece, especially at Chinese New Year, when families gather to play. Small home stakes are common and broadly tolerated; commercial mahjong parlours run for profit are illegal.
  • Card games such as Dou Dizhu, played socially and online in non-cash forms.
  • State lotteries — the only legal wagering. The Welfare Lottery offers draws like Double Colour Ball and Fucai 3D; the Sports Lottery offers football betting and number games such as Daletou.
  • Illegal offshore online casinos and betting apps, which are heavily suppressed.

The State Lottery Boom

Measure2024 figure
Total lottery sales623.49 billion yuan (+7.6% y/y)
Sports Lottery~415.53 billion yuan
Welfare Lottery~207.96 billion yuan

The Welfare Lottery began in 1987 and the Sports Lottery in 1994. Both are state monopolies: the China Welfare Lottery Issuance and Administration Center sits under the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and the China Sports Lottery Administration Center under the General Administration of Sport. Officially these are fundraising tools for welfare and sport, and the government does not classify them as gambling, which is how they coexist with a total ban on betting.

Official Attitudes

The state’s stance is consistent: private and commercial gambling is a crime, cross-border gambling operators are targeted for enforcement, and only the two lotteries are permitted, precisely because they are framed as public-benefit fundraising rather than gambling. Social play like festival mahjong sits in a tolerated grey zone as long as it stays small-stakes and non-commercial.

Sources

18+ only. Gambling is illegal in mainland China. This article is informational, not legal advice. If gambling is causing harm, seek professional help.