Author: Lawyer Sun Guangjun, welcome to pay attention to the exchange.
A friend posted a picture on ** with a text: Can you gamble on the high seas after you get to the open sea? You may have seen in many film and television dramas that driving a ship to the high seas for gambling or other illegal and criminal activities is as if you are in a place outside the law when you enter the high seas. Is that really the case? 
In fact, access to the high seas is also not free. Freedom of the high seas is a fundamental principle of international law, but it does not mean that the high seas are lawless domains. Article 87 of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea provides for "freedom of the high seas", which is open to all States, whether coastal or landlocked. The freedom of the high seas is exercised under the conditions laid down in this Convention and other rules of international law. In other words, "freedom of the high seas" includes freedom of navigation, freedom of overflight, freedom of fishing, etc., but does not include freedom to violate the law and commit crimes. Then again, is it possible to take a boat to the high seas for a small gamble? This depends on a number of factors, including, inter alia, the nationality of the perpetrator, the specific circumstances, the law of the flag State, international law, etc. First of all, if the nationality of the perpetrator is China, according to Article 7 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, if a citizen of the People's Republic of China commits a crime provided for in this Law outside the territory of the People's Republic of China, this Law shall apply, but in accordance with the provisions of this LawWhere the maximum sentence is up to three years imprisonment, prosecution may not be given。Second, the specific circumstances of gambling are related to the jurisdiction of the criminal law. According to the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China and the interpretations of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Several Issues Concerning the Specific Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases of Gambling, if the perpetrator is suspected of the crime of gambling, he may be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, short-term detention or controlled release, and shall also be fined. According to Article 7 of the Criminal Law, gambling abroad may not be prosecuted; If the perpetrator is suspected of the crime of opening a casino or organizing participation in gambling outside the country (territory), where the circumstances are serious, he may be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 5 years but not more than 10 years and a concurrent fine. Thirdly, the laws of the flag State have an important impact on gambling on the high seas. Gambling on board a ship may be considered illegal if gambling is prohibited by flag State law (e.g. ours), irrespective of personal jurisdiction. In addition, you need to consider going to the high seas to gambleWhether it will be linked to other international crimes at sea。International crimes at sea endanger the common interests of all countries in the international community and are generally prohibited by the criminal laws of all countries. These criminal acts, which have a multinational or transnational element, or occur in international waters beyond the territorial sea of the State, are held by all StatesUniversal Jurisdiction, including but not limited to piracy, illegal broadcasting at sea, drug trafficking at sea, slave trafficking at sea, etc. To sum up, whether it is feasible to gamble on the high seas needs to be judged on a case-by-case basis. If you want to gamble on the high seas and have fun, it's a good idea to understand the laws and risks of the flag state, and make sure you act safely and be aware of the risks and consequences that may bring. The Spring Festival holiday is coming, and it is essential for family and friends to get together, rub mahjong, play cards and other entertainment activities. Gatherings for entertainment should not hurt family and friendship, let alone organize or participate in entertainment activities that have a large amount of money or losses for the purpose of profit.
Article 303 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China provides that anyone who gathers a crowd to gamble or uses gambling as a business for profit shall be sentenced to up to three years imprisonment, short-term detention or controlled release, and shall also be fined. where a casino is opened, a sentence of up to five years imprisonment, short-term detention or controlled release is to be given, and a concurrent fine; where the circumstances are serious, a sentence of between 5 and 10 years imprisonment and a concurrent fine is to be given. Where citizens of the People's Republic of China are organized to participate in gambling outside the country (territory), where the amount is huge or there are other serious circumstances, punishment is to be given in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph. Article 70 of the "Public Security Administration Punishment Law of the People's Republic of China" provides conditions for gambling for the purpose of profit, or participates in gambling with a large amount of money, shall be detained for up to 5 days or fined up to 500 yuan; where the circumstances are serious, they are to be detained for between 10 and 15 days and fined between 500 and 3,000 RMB. Article 1 of the "Supreme People's Court and Supreme People's Procuratorate Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Specific Application of Law in the Handling of Criminal Cases of Gambling" Article 1: In any of the following circumstances for the purpose of making profits, it is "gathering crowds to gamble" as provided for in Article 303 of the Criminal Law:(1) Organizing 3 or more people to gamble, and the cumulative amount of profits from taking a profit reaches 5,000 RMB or more; (2) Organizing 3 or more people to gamble, and the cumulative amount of gambling funds reaches 50,000 yuan or more; (3) Organizing 3 or more people to gamble, and the cumulative number of gambling participants reaches 20 or more; (4) Organizing 10 or more citizens of the People's Republic of China to gamble abroad, and collecting kickbacks or referral fees from them. Article 2: Establishing gambling on a computer network for the purpose of making profits, or serving as a gambling company and accepting bets, is "opening a casino" as provided for in Article 303 of the Criminal Law. Article 3: Where citizens of the People's Republic of China gather to gamble or open casinos in surrounding areas outside the territory of our country, with the aim of attracting citizens of the People's Republic of China as the main source of customers, and the crime of gambling is constituted, criminal responsibility may be pursued in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Law. Article 4: Clearly knowing that others are committing criminal gambling activities, but providing them with direct assistance such as funds, computer networks, communications, and fee settlement, is to be punished as an accomplice to the crime of gambling. Special StatementThis article represents the author's personal views and does not represent the position of his institution, nor should it be regarded as issuing any form of legal advice or recommendation. To ** or to quote anything from the article, please contact the author himself.