US State Department Says Casinos in Asia Being Utilized for Human Trafficking

U.S. State Department says Asian casinos are used for human trafficking

The U.S. State Department is warning travelers that casinos across Asia are increasingly being used to facilitate body tracking (TIP). The top U.S. foreign policy body dedicated to protecting the interests and security of the American people also said online casino platforms operating in Asia are increasingly engaging in cyber fraud and online recruitment of vulnerable people into forced labor.

In the State Department's 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report, federal officials said the Asian gambling industry plays an increasing role in the illegal movement of captive populations.

Human trafficking and human trafficking are general terms in which traffickers exploit and profit from people by forcing them to work or engage in commercial sex. Human trafficking is sometimes referred to as "modern slavery."

The State Department divides human trafficking into two categories. The first is sex trafficking, which involves inducing a person to engage in sexual activity through "force, fraud, or coercion." Another category includes recruiting, housing, and transporting people to work through the use of force, fraud, or coercion.

Casino Vehicles

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said his department has found that "casinos in Asia," especially in border cities, have become frequent sites for "human traffickers to conduct their illicit business."

Casinos and shell companies operating out of vacant hotels and other leased and custom-built commercial spaces have become hotspots for this growing criminal activity - particularly in remote special economic zones, border towns and other geographical areas with complex jurisdictions , these areas are prone to human rights impunity, with minimal enforcement "known to law enforcement," the State Department report said.

The ministry said the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in human trafficking. State officials say traffickers use false job offers to recruit vulnerable people from dozens of countries, including Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, China, the Philippines and Thailand.

Many recruits who are not sold to sex traffickers are forced to participate in online scams, some of which involve online gambling. Those who were captured and tried to escape were known to be "brutally murdered."

Casino Scam Example

The U.S. Department of State's 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report details the case of a 26-year-old woman from the Philippines. She responded to a call center job ad posted on Facebook. She is qualified for the position because she speaks English.

During her pregnancy, she traveled to Cambodia to start a new life and work. When she arrived, she was locked in a cell for days without food or water. Her captor reportedly abused her for months, forcing her to create fake dating profiles on dating apps to lure people into fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes.

The woman eventually managed to escape but lost her unborn child, according to the State Department.

"We will continue to refine and adapt our efforts to combat this crime and build stronger partnerships with governments, businesses, survivor leaders and non-governmental organizations," Blinken said. "We will ensure that survivors of human trafficking can recover. Services needed for life.”