Is just such a shock from being in China. Just got harassed and essentially threatened for being a socialist. They searched my bags and commented on my China flag and my little red books and my copy of Blackshirts and Reds. Fucking police state. The security in China is strict, but they don’t give a fuck about your thoughts, whereas this guy was very aggressive about “consequences” for being a socialist.
I don’t know, because I am not a consumer of any of those things. I have a Chinese friend who often jokes about erotic massages, but that’s about as far as my exposure to that goes. I know Macau is basically the gambling den of China though.
I should have specified mainland China. I am aware that sadly in the formerly colonized territories like Macau and Hong Kong there are still a fair few remnants of western removed.
China still has remnants of the system too. Lotteries are not legally considered gambling, and the state operates two state sponsored lotteries.
That's...unfortunate. Lotteries may not be as addictive or as scummy as other forms of gambling but they are definitely still gambling. I wonder if the state sponsored lotteries have a profit margin or if the money from ticket sales just goes fully back into the prize pool.
Only 50% of the profits go to welfare. The other 50% is pocketed. The welfare part is essentially good PR, and is identical to the US system. In the US lotteries are used as a funding mechanism for school districts, and that’s essentially what China is doing here. It’s just a way to pretend that the lottery is doing something good.
Still scummy, and still supporting gambling addiction :/
I’m not sure on the mechanics of it, but I did see the state lottery offices, and it’s subtitled in English as Chinese Welfare Lottery, so hopefully the profits go to welfare? Idk. I hear it’s pretty popular though.
I forgot to mention that there were scratch off tickets at one of the malls I went to also, my wifey bought a few and lost on all of them 😂