The social order of illegal markets in cyberspace: extralegal governance and online gambling in China

How do illegal markets operate in cyberspace? Drawing on interview data, this article examines the organizational structure of China’s illegal online gambling businesses and their use of extralegal governance institutions to marketize services, ensure fair play, enforce compliance, and reduce the risk of prosecution. The article also discusses the impact of China’s intensified efforts to repress illegal markets. It suggests that operators in the illegal online market now prefer to settle gambling debts using ex ante means, such as deposits, rather than ex post mechanisms, such as using interpersonal obligations or violence to enforce debt collection. This research contributes to the literature on extralegal governance, gambling, and illegal markets.