"Hainan province has suspended private investors from registering companies in the online gambling business.
The suspension could cool growing expectations for private investment in sports betting, lotteries and other forms of gambling in the southern island province as rumors had been circulating that the government would soon legalize betting on horse racing.
Over the past year, more than 70 companies, each which had pledged more than 10 million yuan ($1.5 million) in capital, registered in Hainan as internet gaming companies to conduct gambling businesses, including online lotteries and equestrian gaming, which could involve betting on horses, according to a Caixin investigation.
Most of the companies were established by individual investors. Many shared the same stakeholders and executives. Some even shared the same address — often at a residential compound."
