China
Odaily
Internally-Bookmaking Virtual Currency Futures Platforms Constitute Operating a Gambling Den, Says China's Top Prosecutor
- The SPP's guidance targets virtual currency perpetual futures platforms that use an internal dealing (bookmaking) model, where the platform is the direct counterparty to user positions instead of routing trades to external exchanges or liquidity pools.
- Because the platform profits when users lose and bears losses when users win — mirroring a casino's house-edge structure — the SPP determined this fits the legal elements of 'operating a gambling den' under Chinese criminal law.
- The guidance gives prosecutors and investigators a clearer basis to bring criminal charges against operators of such crypto derivatives platforms, reinforcing China's broader crackdown on unlicensed virtual currency trading and derivatives schemes.