Macau website lists names of Chinese who skipped on gambling debts

But website could be breaking the law.

The private bilingual website, translated as “Wonderful World” in English, shows a blacklist of over 70 Chinese who it claims have failed to repay gambling debts ranging from thousands to millions of renminbi.

Photographs of alleged deadbeats are displayed, along with their date of birth and marital status. A bounty is often offered for help in tracking them down.

But the controversial strategy to combat bad debts is under scrutiny from the police for possibly breaking the law and from Macau’s gaming authority over privacy concerns.

Collecting gambling debts is illegal in China, which makes Macau's 35 casinos heavily reliant on junkets to settle any debts. The top junkets are sprawling conglomerates with thousands of employees and deep pockets that allow casinos to lend millions to gamblers.

Macau is the only place in China where casinos are allowed. It took in US$38 billion in gaming revenues last year, with 70% of that coming from the VIP sector.