A RECENT MEDIA INVESTIGATION found that an illegal underground lottery exists in South China's Hainan province, which cheats the players. Beijing News comments:

Everybody knows what these underground lotteries are: gambling. Unlike the official lottery, none of the money is invested in charity work. And in the long run, "the banker" always wins. There have been many cases in which those addicted to gambling have gone bankrupt, even committed suicide.

The authorities have sought to squeeze the space for such gambling for a long time, yet the illegal gambling in Hainan is so well hidden that it still persists.

It is time to figure out new ways to end the illegal underground lottery in Hainan. First, the legal lottery system needs to be further promoted to attract lottery buyers.

In 2018, a guiding document on the overall deepening of reform of Hainan said that the province should try sports betting lotteries. That might not mean the start of commercial betting in Hainan, but at least it provides some possibility.

If legal betting emerges in Hainan, it will be put under better control and the profit derived from the sales can be invested for the public interest.

Second, the illegal underground lottery must be strictly curbed. The report that uncovered the existence of the underground lottery in Hainan said that it is rampant in some towns. The local law enforcers must better perform their duties and strike against these underground lotteries at the root.

Some law enforcers might worry about the possibility of local residents getting angry because they might feel their entertainment is affected. Actually, with the illegal lottery eliminated, the official one can flourish and they will benefit local residents because their rights will be better protected.

Although the local underground lottery industry chain is quite mature and has a keen anti-discovery capability, many of the selling points have no cover, and they are in an almost semiopen state with people playing after they finish work. It should not be difficult to find a clue.