China is once again showing they are serious about putting an end to overseas gambling for their citizens. The country’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism has announced a “blacklist” of overseas tourist destinations, focused on countries that promote gambling tourism for Chinese nationals.

Devised in conjunction with other departments, the blacklist seeks to impose travel restrictions on Chinese citizens, potentially blocking their ability to travel to casino destinations. It noted that these locations are “endangering the personal and property safety of Chinese citizens.”

There are very few specifics available about the blacklist at this point, so what this exactly means for the Asian gambling industry can only be speculated. JP Morgan analysts were happy to do just that, suggesting that operations in the Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam and Australia could suffer.

The Philippines, which has several integrated resorts (IRs) and a thriving online gambling industry, defied China’s wishes to shut down online operations in 2019. Cambodia agreed to shut down online operations, but still has easily accessible casinos for Chinese citizens to travel to.