Poker Writer
Myanmar arrested 156 individuals, most of them Chinese nationals, in another crackdown on online gambling in the eastern part of the country. The individuals were suspected of participating in an illegal operation run from the premises in Kyiangtong Township in eastern Shan State, bordering China and Thailand.
Of the 156 people arrested, 144 of them were Chinese nationals, 140 men and 4 women. The rest were from Myanmar, except for one individual from Laos.
Starlink terminals allowed the operation to bypass Myanmar’s unreliable power grid and state-controlled telecoms. The operation provided a hefty hardware haul with 658 mobile phones, 134 desktop computers, 28 laptops, 15 central processing units, and the Starlinks.
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Intense Gambling Crackdown in Myanmar
This is just the latest crackdown after about a year of it in the Southeast Asian military-junta nation. At first it appeared as though the government was simply using propaganda to promote the crackdown with dramatic videos rather than actually doing much to stem illegal gambling.
But the continued commitment to crackdowns, including a previous huge raid that arrested close to 350 people indicates that the authorities are in fact determined to rid their border of illegal gambling operations.
In total, Myanmar nationals have arrested more than 1,000 foreign nationals since late 2025. Most of the arrests have happened near the Thai border in the eastern part of the country, particularly in the tumultuous Shan State.
The eastern state, which is the largest by size in Myanmar, has been a hotbed for ethnic armed clashes. Its chaotic nature makes it attractive to foreign entities looking to hide and run their operations. But the regional ceasefire in 2025 has allowed the authorities to turn their attention to other things, such as cracking down on illegal gambling. That has now become a heavy focus.
The sheer amount of foreign nationals operating inside the country shows that the lack of respect that the Myanmar authorities have from nearby nations in terms of being able to wrangle illegal operations. Authorities are trying hard to change that narrative and quell the continued attempts from bad actors who cross the border.
