Attorney Shao Shiwei | How Is the Provision of 'Technical Support' to Gambling Websites Determined? Which Positions May Seek Non-Prosecution?

How Is the Provision of 'Technical Support' to Gambling Websites Determined?

Both the judicial interpretations on online gambling issued in 2010 and 2020 clearly define the types of conduct constituting accomplice liability for the crime of opening a casino:

Providing services such as software development, technical support, internet access, server hosting, network storage space, communication transmission channels, advertising placement, member recruitment, and fund payment and settlement for gambling platforms.

But the key question remains—what exactly does 'technical support' refer to?

Although the judicial interpretation lists types of conduct, it does not provide a more detailed definition of 'technical support.'
This has led to the expanded interpretation of job responsibilities for certain positions in practice.

Based on judicial practice experience, Attorney Shao believes that so-called 'technical support' typically includes the following specific forms:

• Software Development and Maintenance: Developing websites, apps, or mini-programs for gambling platforms, or providing daily operational maintenance, vulnerability patching, and other services;

• Data and Algorithm Support: Providing core data or algorithmic support for gambling activities, such as odds systems on e-sports platforms, where algorithms are adjusted to ensure the house’s profit;

• System and Network Support: Providing services such as internet access, server hosting, network storage space, and communication transmission channels to enable the stable operation of the website;

• Payment Technology Solutions: Developing or maintaining technical systems used for the settlement of gambling funds, deposits, and withdrawals;

• Auxiliary Tool Development: Creating plug-ins, scripts, and other tools that can automatically log in, place bets, or scrape user data.

From this, it can be seen that 'technical support' in the context of the crime of opening a casino does not refer broadly to any technology-related activity, but rather to professional and substantive technical acts that provide key technical support for the normal operation of gambling websites, help them evade regulation, expand their scale, or improve efficiency.

 Only when these technical services substantially facilitate the conduct or expansion of gambling activities, and the actor subjectively knows that the service recipient is a gambling website, do the constituent elements of being an accomplice to the crime of opening a casino exist.

In other words, if the actor did not receive abnormally high fees, did not use encryption methods to conceal their actions, and ceased services promptly upon receiving regulatory warnings, it cannot be directly presumed that they had 'knowledge.'
 In such cases, the actor must not only engage in the 'objective act' of providing technical services but also satisfy the requirement of 'subjective knowledge' to meet the constituent elements of the crime of opening a casino.

Do the Responsibilities of UI Designers Constitute 'Technical Support'?

Attorney Shao believes that the job responsibilities of UI designers do not align with the concept of 'technical support' in the crime of opening a casino; therefore, UI designers should not be considered guilty of the crime of opening a casino.

What Does UI Mean?

UI, which stands for User Interface, refers to the user interface. In daily life, when we use mobile software (apps) or visit websites, all visual elements that come into view, such as icon styles, button colors and shapes, text fonts and sizes, and the layout of various functions, fall within the scope of the user interface.

What Do UI Designers Specifically Do?

A UI Designer (User Interface Designer) is primarily responsible for the overall design of human-computer interaction, operational logic, and interface aesthetics for software, applications, or websites, with the core goal of enhancing the product’s user experience.

Attorney Shao believes that the work content of UI designers does not meet the constituent elements of 'technical support,' mainly for three reasons:

The Technical Act Lacks Criticality

If the nature of the position is limited to general interface and material design work, with primary responsibilities being the beautification and optimization of webpage and app colors, layouts, button positions, pop-up styles, etc., and creating advertising images and promotional videos based on operational needs, then the work content is confined to the appearance design of pages and icons and does not involve the development of the platform’s internal functions or backend logic.

Their work on the platform involved in the case remains at the level of interface display and visuals, and does not involve the technical implementation of functions related to the platform’s gambling modules. Their work content is not significantly different from the responsibilities of UI designers in traditional internet companies.

Lack of 'Knowledge' Subjectively

As ordinary staff members of the platform, UI designers are typically managed uniformly by the company and complete assigned tasks according to their job responsibilities. Their salary levels do not differ significantly from general market standards. Furthermore, personnel in this position often have difficulty accessing the substantive business operations or fund flows of the platform and lack the ability to discern the nature of the platform’s business.

According to the 2020 'Opinions on Several Issues Concerning the Handling of Cross-Border Gambling Crime Cases,' general staff members of gambling websites who have no direct connection to the organization of gambling activities may be exempt from criminal liability unless they participate in profit sharing or receive obviously high fixed salaries.

If an actor merely completes general tasks such as visual design according to work instructions, lacking the conditions for cognition or intentional elements regarding the gambling nature of the activity, it cannot be presumed that they subjectively had 'knowledge.' Therefore, if it is to be determined that an actor had 'subjective knowledge,' a comprehensive judgment must be made based on their position authority, scope of access, salary level, and communication content, rather than mechanically determining that they 'knew about the gambling involvement' simply because they were employed by the company or had access to some page materials.

The Consequences of the Act Lack 'Assistance'

In judicial practice, determining the 'provision of technical support' requires not only examining whether the act has technical attributes but also whether it provided substantial assistance to the conduct of gambling activities. In other words, only when the act objectively promotes or strengthens the operation, expansion, or profitability of the gambling website can it be considered to have 'assistance.'

The job responsibilities of UI designers are mainly focused on interface optimization and beautification. Their work usually includes adjusting colors, button styles, and layout arrangements, aiming to enhance user experience. Although these contents improve visual effects, they have no substantial impact on whether the platform can operate normally or whether it possesses gambling functions. The nature of their work belongs to auxiliary design; even without this part of the work, the functions of various sections of the platform can still operate normally.

Simply put, the presence or absence of UI designers does not affect the implementation of gambling modules or the conduct of betting activities.

From the perspective of criminal law evaluation, their acts are not equivalent in legal significance to 'assisting gambling activities' and should not be identified as 'technical support' acts in the crime of opening a casino.

In summary, the job responsibilities of UI designers differ fundamentally from 'technical support.' Identifying such positions uniformly as accomplices to the crime of opening a casino deviates from the principle of legally prescribed punishment for a specified crime and contradicts the rational judgment required in judicial practice.

The Timing of Defense Is Crucial

From the foregoing, we can see that the job responsibilities of UI designers do not conform to the legal meaning of 'technical support.' However, in practice, as platform employees, one cannot blindly assume optimism that because they did not participate in the platform’s contract module work, they necessarily do not constitute the crime of opening a casino.

In practice, if the job responsibilities and work boundaries are not fully elucidated to the case-handling authorities at an early stage, it is easy to be misunderstood as providing technical support for the platform’s gambling modules, leading to misjudgment by case-handling personnel and erroneous characterization as accomplices to the crime of opening a casino.

Therefore, the timing of defense is crucial.

During the investigation stage or the review for prosecution stage at the procuratorate, defense counsel should communicate with the handling personnel as early as possible, explaining the defendant’s specific work content and scope of responsibilities, and providing corresponding supporting materials—such as design drafts, project descriptions, working papers, email records, etc.—to prove that they only engaged in general interface design work.

Before the case is transferred to the court, these explanations often allow case-handling personnel to reconsider the nature of the position, thereby seeking non-prosecution treatment at the procuratorial stage.

Conversely, once the case enters the court trial procedure, the process will usually continue to advance along the direction of the established charges.

Even if the job content can be clearly explained in court, the court may, considering the overall determination, make an expanded interpretation of 'technical support,' ultimately including design positions within the scope of accomplices.

For example, in Case No. (2020) Ji 0721 Xing Chu 81, the defendant was a staff member of the UI team of a certain company, with job responsibilities as a graphic designer, responsible for producing logos for gambling software and images for gambling software interfaces. The court held that he provided technical support to the gambling website and was ultimately sentenced to three years of imprisonment with a suspended sentence.

However, if the case has indeed entered the court stage, a targeted defense plan needs to be formulated based on the specific circumstances of the case. At this point, the focus of the defense should be on restoring the true job responsibilities, distinguishing the nature of the acts, and weakening the element of subjective intent. Meanwhile, depending on the evidence, consideration may be given to using the 'Crime of Aiding Information Network Criminal Activities' (Bangxin Crime) as a strategy for defending against a lesser charge, in order to achieve a more favorable outcome in sentencing.

For example, in Case No. (2025) Yu 1627 Xing Chu 237, the court determined that the defendant, serving as a UI designer assistant for a certain company, provided technical support for the crime. The defendant argued that his work content was limited to webpage visual design and did not involve core links such as website function development, server setup, or fund settlement. Ultimately, the court sentenced him to eight months of imprisonment with a suspended sentence for the Crime of Aiding Information Network Criminal Activities.

Final Remarks:

Based on practical experience, 'technical support' in online gambling crime cases has departed from its literal meaning and shows a tendency towards expanded interpretation. However, from the perspective of platform employees, this generalized determination may cause some ordinary positions to suffer 'unjust accusations.' Therefore, defense counsel should, on the basis of fully understanding the client’s specific work content, clarify those seemingly ambiguous job boundaries to case-handling personnel as clearly as possible.