Is it illegal for family and friends to gather and play mahjong?
Compiled from: China Legal Education
The Spring Festival holiday is approaching, and it is inevitable to visit relatives and friends and have gatherings with friends. When a few relatives and friends get together, playing mahjong to pass the time is unavoidable. If such mahjong games among relatives and friends involve small stakes and minor wins or losses, do they constitute gambling? Many people say they feel “quite uneasy.”
During the Spring Festival, if mahjong is played among relatives and friends as a leisure activity without the purpose of making a profit, public security authorities will not consider it gambling! So what exactly constitutes gambling behavior?
The
[1] The People's Republic of China
Criminal Law
Article 303
Whoever, for the purpose of profit, gathers people to gamble or makes gambling a profession shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, or public surveillance, and shall also be fined.
Whoever operates a gambling establishment shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years, criminal detention, or public surveillance, and shall also be fined; if the circumstances are serious, the sentence shall be fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years but not more than ten years, and a fine shall also be imposed.
Organizing citizens of the People's Republic of China to participate in gambling abroad, if the amount is huge or there are other serious circumstances, shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph.
The
[1] The People's Republic of China
Public Security Administration Punishments Law
Article 70
Whoever, for the purpose of profit, provides conditions for gambling or participates in gambling with a relatively large amount of money shall be detained for not more than five days or fined not more than 500 yuan; if the circumstances are serious, he shall be detained for not less than 10 days but not more than 15 days, and shall also be fined not less than 500 yuan but not more than 3,000 yuan.
[1] The author's perspective
In China, playing mahjong during Chinese New Year gatherings is a very common phenomenon, but the essence of this activity should be recreational rather than gambling for profit. According to the above legal provisions, two factors are generally considered in determining whether playing mahjong constitutes an illegal act: first, whether it is “for the purpose of profit”; and second, the amount of gambling money. It can thus be seen that playing mahjong for recreation among family and friends is generally not recognized as gambling, but if the above two conditions are met, legal consequences may be incurred.
Gambling not only wastes money, affecting many people's work and life, causing family discord and a series of social problems, but can even lead to bankruptcy and desperation. At the same time, gambling can also induce other crimes, such as some open or secret casinos, which not only have usury businesses behind them but may also hide criminal organizations with gangster characteristics, causing great harm to society. Therefore, cracking down on gambling is not only about protecting personal property and personal safety but also a strong guarantee for maintaining social stability.
