Kenya will deport any foreigners involved in illegal gambling activity as the campaign against Chinese-owned gambling machines intensifies.

On Monday, Kenyan media quoted Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matlangi saying that the illegal gambling machines that have proliferated in retail shops across the country were “a threat to our society” and the government “shall not accept” their continued existence.

Matlangi (pictured) was speaking at the symbolic torching of gambling machines brought into Kenya illegally. Most of the machines originated in China, and their operators could find themselves on a one-way trip back to China should they be caught by local authorities.

Kenya sought to bar the importation of gambling machines way back in January 2017, following Betting Control and Licensing Board chairman Anthony Kimani Kungu’s claim that the bulk of the illegal machines were “installed by some Chinese in cahoots with some unscrupulous businessmen, especially bar owners.”

Those ‘cashless casinos’ on China’s island province of Hainan are reportedly gearing up for a comeback, although Beijing may yet have other plans.

On Monday, Bloomberg reported that “at least five” Chinese-owned resorts on Hainan were prepping “entertainment bars” featuring casino-like games that pay out winnings in credits that could only be redeemed for non-gaming amenities at the resorts.

Similar ‘cashless’ gaming parlors were launched on Hainan around five years ago, but these were quickly shut down after international media reports brought them mainstream attention. With the exception of state-run lotteries, casinos in Macau and the Hong Kong Jockey Club, gambling remains illegal in China.

In February, Beijing announced plans to allow Hainan to offer horseracing (but not race betting) and expanded lottery operations as part of a plan to boost tourism. While analysts were quick to dismiss the likelihood of legalized casinos on the island, a local court recently overturned a ruling against a cashless casino, a development that other analysts suggested would not have transpired without Beijing’s approval.

The US military views Chinese-backed casinos in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) as a threat to its operations in the region, according to a new government report.

Last week, the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) released a report titled China’s Engagement in the Pacific Islands: Implications for the United States that expressed concern over Chinese-run gaming venues on the CNMI islands of Saipan and Tinian.

Specifically, the USCC claimed that Chinese investors’ casinos in the CNMI “could complicate U.S. Department of Defense plans in CNMI for extensive training and exercises resulting from the recent relocation of Marines from Okinawa, Japan.”

The report goes on to call the CNMI “a strategic asset for the US military” and claims that “as China increases its economic engagement, Pacific Island countries may feel more beholden to Beijing and side with it at international fora.”

Vietnam has identified the first casino that will be allowed to accept local residents on its gaming floor.

Last week, the Hanoi Times reported that Vietnam’s Ministry of Planning and Investment had recommended that the in-development Bai Dai Integrated Resort Project on Phu Quoc island be granted authority to participate in a three-year pilot program that lifts the longstanding ban on locals gambling in casinos.

Last December, Vietnam’s government approved Decree 03/2017/ND-CP, which calls for two casinos to participate in the three-year locals trial. The Phu Quoc resort and another in-development project in Quang Ninh province were previously tipped as being the only venues that would be allowed to participate in the trial.

While the pilot project was supposed to commence last December, neither of the casinos fingered as the likely candidates have opened to the public yet. The Hanoi Times report indicated that the pilot program won’t officially start until the first casino is awarded its gaming license.

Hong Kong-listed gaming investor Genting Hong Kong is disposing all of its remaining shares in Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NCLH) as it beefs up its financial coffers for new investments.

Shareholders of Genting Hong Kong voted on Friday to exit from NCLH by selling its 3.15 million shares in the company, which is equivalent to a 1.4 percent stake. The company said that 99 percent of the shareholders agreed to a disposal process that will take place over the next 12 months.

The minimum selling price will not be less than US$43.86 per share based on the terms agreed upon by investors. Computershare Hong Kong Investor Services Limited, the company’s branch share registrar in Hong Kong, acted as the scrutineer for vote-taking during Genting HK’s special general meeting.

Genting HK, a subsidiary of Malaysian conglomerate Genting Berhad, started selling its shares in NCLH in 2017 in preparation for its business expansion in North Asia. The gambling firm said proceeds from the disposal “will be used as general working capital and capital expenditure for the group and/or to fund new investments, should suitable opportunities arise.”

More Australians have been using their mobile phones to wager on different sporting events, although the number of punters have dipped in the last couple of years.

In its latest gaming report, Roy Morgan Research pointed out that Australia has seen a more than four-fold increase in the number of Australians using their mobile phones to wager, driving the online wagering growth higher.

From 5.6 percent in 2012, Roy Morgan said that a fifth of Australian bettors or 22.7 percent use their mobile phones to gamble. The number of Australians who use their PCs to place bets remained virtually unchanged from 15.2 percent in 2012 to 15.1 percent in 2018, according to the Melbourne-based market research company.

The number of Australians using the internet to wager grew significantly from 15.7 percent in 2012 to 34.1 percent this year, according to Roy Morgan. Despite the robust online gambling figures, the research firm noted that the number of Australians making bets have dropped 8.7 percent to 3.4 million in 2018 from 3.7 million in 2012.