The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime released a new assessment detailing the annual global illegal betting market, which ranges from $340 billion to $1.7 trillion. The organization indicates that roughly half of this unregulated turnover is concentrated in China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.
Regional Operations and Enforcement
Southeast Asia hosts a significant portion of the infrastructure supporting these unlicensed operators, with platforms frequently utilized for financial fraud and money laundering. Recent regional data illustrates the scale of the sector. Authorities in the Philippines identified 11,985 illegal gambling websites by August 2025, of which 6,363 operate as online casinos.
Meanwhile, Vietnam’s annual illegal online betting volume is calculated at $10 billion.
Law enforcement actions continue to target cross-border gambling networks. During a November 2025 inspection at the Shwe Kokko gaming center in Myanmar, officials confiscated roughly 10,000 mobile devices used for unauthorized online wagering and detained approximately 350 individuals. The UNODC assessment outlines how these operators distribute their business functions across multiple jurisdictions.
Companies typically register in one country, host servers in another, employ staff in a third location, and process transactions through foreign banking institutions and cryptocurrency wallets.
Source: UNODC.