Alipay to act against accounts used for gambling

Chinese gamblers be warned…online payments provider AliPay – a subsidiary of internet e-commerce giant Alibaba – has threatened to permanently disable accounts repeatedly involved in gambling.

The warning came in a company social media post on Weibo, and is associated with Alipay’s latest initiative to crack down on illegal activities that include gambling.

Alipay users caught for the first time will be banned from sending messages and participating in social groups, but if they persist they will have their money transactions suspended for 30 days, before disabling their accounts permanently.

And for any gambling transactions involving more than CNY 10,000 (US$1,540), or 50 people, Alipay will inform the police.

The company says it has thus far acted against a thousand accounts.

The clean-up may be connected to reports that Alipay is planning an initial public offering on Shanghai’s main board in what could be China’s highest IPO valuation since 2010.

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