Let’s Start With a Few Words

Brothers, when you saw this title, did your heart skip a beat? But before we pierce this thin layer of window paper and clearly talk about “why some people in the industry are even darker than the government,” let’s slow down first and dig back to the root of the problem: how did the gambling industry—something that should have been fine on its own—end up becoming conjoined twins with scams? Back in the day, when we talked about “online gambling,” what came to mind were early online betting markets or newly emerging online baccarat. Even then, it was still true that “nine out of ten gamblers lose,” but at least there was some respect for the “basic rules.” Players were gambling against probability. The house made money, sure—but if a player got insanely lucky, they could still have a sip of soup, win enough for cigarettes, and have a laugh. Nowadays, people haven’t even sat at the table yet, and their underwear color has already been calculated.

The problem really started in recent years, especially in certain parts of Southeast Asia, when the gambling industry and telecom fraud syndicates underwent a terrifying “chemical reaction.” Those who used to run gambling suddenly realized: “Damn, scamming makes money even faster!” Meanwhile, the scammers rolled their eyes and thought: “If we wear the skin of gambling, these gamblers will bite much more easily!” And just like that, the two sides hit it off and started this so-called “cross-industry integration.” These people completely stirred the gambling industry into a pot of messy stew with a dead rat dropped inside—utterly ruined and stinking.

From Southeast Asian fraud parks and social media investment scams to fake gambling platforms, fake apps, and "pig butchering" scams, the terms "fraud" and "gambling," which should belong to different fields, are now tied together in a gray and black chain.

If one sentence were used to describe the impression people have of today’s online gambling industry, it would be:“Scams lure people in at the front, gambling launders the money at the back.”

This has also affected many compliant online gambling platforms, who are now feeling extremely aggrieved.

"I'm running a legitimate business with a license and paying taxes. Why do people immediately associate gambling with fraud?"

But that's not the most unjust thing.

In the gray market, there is another group of "unlucky kids":

Some small online gambling operators have neither the money to obtain licenses nor the resources to follow formal compliance processes. They originally only wanted to make some startup capital through their platforms, but ended up being labeled by public opinion as “affiliates of scam syndicates.”

But the reality is this: in the eyes of ordinary people, regardless of whether you are black, gray, or white, phrases like “online gambling platform,” “gambling app links,” or “recommendations to play high-rebate games” have already been used to exhaustion by scam syndicates, making it very difficult for players to distinguish compliant platforms, gray platforms, or outright scam shells.

This situation is like being in a public bathhouse. Some people are genuinely there to get clean, while others are there to steal wallets. The problem is, from the outside, everyone is wrapped in the same white towel. Whether you’re there to bathe or to steal—aside from yourself—who would really know?

In the following article, I'd like to talk to you all about these three things:

1. Clearly explain the structural relationship between scam syndicates and the gambling industry;

2. From "probability games" to "murder mystery games," player trust has completely collapsed.

3. The complex relationship between fraud rings and the gambling industry: Will it get worse in the next five years?

Alright then. Grab some tea. Let’s get into it.

1. Three Common Structures Between Fraudulent Groups and Online Gambling

Why do scam syndicates so often tie themselves to “gambling”? Because in three key areas, these two fields are structurally highly similar:

1. Population structure: large numbers of frontline “script operators,” customer service staff, technicians, and designers. Scam operations and gambling operations look very similar in team composition.

2. Money-flow structure: high-frequency deposits and withdrawals, with inherently frequent inflows and outflows of funds.

3. Technical structure: websites, apps, backends, CRM systems, and data systems are all highly alike.

1.1 Population Structure: Industries Built on “Typing + Calling”

The workforce composition inside Southeast Asian scam compounds is strikingly similar to that of online gambling groups:

•  -“Pushers” (script operators): responsible for adding contacts, building relationships, talking about investments, and promoting rebates; -

•  -Technical teams: building websites, backends, risk-control systems, fake K-line charts, and fake games; 

•  Design teams: creating banners and visual pages to make everything look legitimate, polished, and professional;

• Managers / team leaders: responsible for KPIs, conversion rates, and “output.”

Gambling companies also have customer service, promotion, technical, design, operations, and risk-control teams.

This leads to a reality:

• Scam syndicates can easily disguise themselves as gambling companies

• Gambling shell companies can switch at any time to becoming scam fronts.

Many people who go to Southeast Asia to work originally think they will be doing customer service or promotion. But once they arrive, if gambling business becomes difficult, the boss simply pulls them into running “pig-butchering” scams. For the boss, this is simply “human resource reuse.”

1.2 Payment Structure: Fraudulent payments and "non-compliant gambling" share the same underlying logic

For fraud groups, the hardest part isn't swindling money, but rather:

How can you turn stolen money into clean money without being traced?

This is precisely where they are most similar to, and most easily interconnected with, unlicensed online gambling platforms. Both require funds to be able to "come in, go out, and have no traceable source."

Both rely on a highly underground financial ecosystem, including:

•  Mule accounts used to disperse funds

•  Couriers withdrawing large amounts of cash

•  Cash flowing back into underground banks

•  OTC cryptocurrency transactions for anonymization

•  Shell companies creating fake trade activities

•  Fake invoices and fake revenue to provide a “legal cover”

The two industries have different sources of funds, but they use the same “pipes.” This financial chain is the standard money-laundering route for scam syndicates and the daily survival method for many illegal gambling groups.

1.3 Technical Structure: One Tech Stack, Two Completely Different Uses

Gambling platforms have:

•  Front-end websites, game lobbies, and member centers

•  Backend reports, financial systems, and user data

•  Customer service systems, ticket systems, CRM, and push notifications

Scam syndicates also have:

•  Fake investment apps, fake trading backends, fake gambling platforms

•  Fabricated earnings reports and backends filled with fake data

•  “Mentors” and customer service on WhatsApp, Telegram, or Line

From the technology supply side, many teams that provide technical services for gambling platforms do not need to relearn any skills to build systems for scam syndicates.

2. From “Probability Games” to “Scripted Theater”: A Complete Collapse of Trust

The most significant change in recent years is that the survival space of real gambling has been severely squeezed by fake gambling (scams).

•  In the past, gambling companies—whether legal or not—still cared somewhat about reputation and long-term survival. But after scam syndicates entered the space, all restraint disappeared.  
•  Scripted gameplay: - No withdrawals: This is the most obvious characteristic. If you win money on a real gambling website, you can usually withdraw it (unless you win too much and trigger risk controls). But on scam platforms, letting you withdraw a few hundred at the beginning is just bait to play the long game. Once you deposit tens or hundreds of thousands and try to withdraw? Sorry—“system maintenance,” “insufficient turnover,” “security deposit required.” They can come up with excuses enough to fill an entire book of One Thousand and One Nights.
  
  This chaos has caused a credibility crisis across the entire iGaming industry. Today, even when players encounter a legitimate gambling website, their first reaction is: “Is this another pig-butchering scam?”

3. The Entangled Relationship Between Scam Syndicates and the Gambling Industry: Will It Get Worse in the Next Five Years?

3.1 Why Did 2025 Become the “Year of the Great Purge”? The Logic Behind the Global Crackdown

You might wonder: gambling and scams have existed for years, so why did countries like Myanmar, Thailand, Japan, and even nations across Europe suddenly seem to act in unison around 2025, launching heavy-handed crackdowns?

The reason is simple: the nature of the problem has changed.

In the past, illegal gambling was mostly considered an economic crime—tax evasion or regulatory violations. But once scam syndicates merged with the gambling industry, the issue escalated to the level of national security and a human rights crisis.

•  - The awakening of Myanmar and Thailand: These regions used to turn a blind eye to scam and gambling compounds, believing they contributed to GDP growth. But they later realized that human trafficking, kidnappings, and extortion tied to these compounds severely damaged national tourism and international reputation. In 2025, joint law enforcement efforts between China, Thailand, and Myanmar reached their peak, aiming to eradicate these cancerous operations. -

•  - The Philippines’ “table-flipping” shift: The Philippines was once a paradise for offshore gambling (POGO), issuing licenses and collecting taxes with great enthusiasm. Eventually, the government realized that the tax revenue generated wasn’t nearly enough to offset the public security disasters these operations caused. Kidnappings, murders, and money laundering were all linked to gambling compounds. As a result, the Philippine president ordered a total ban on offshore gambling—compliant or not. Anyone involved had to pack up and leave. For groups entrenched in Manila for years, it was like having their home base wiped out overnight. -

•  The counterattack from developed countries: Japan and European nations became aggressive because their citizens turned into major victims. Massive capital outflows and citizens being lured into Southeast Asia forced these governments to exercise “long-arm jurisdiction.”