In Depth: China’s Livestreaming Apps Face a Reckoning Over Gambling

In April 2024, voice-chat app Banban abruptly announced it was ceasing operations. The platform once boasted 36.2 million registered users and 240,000 streamers.

A year earlier, police raided the offices of its parent company, Changxiangban (Wuhan) Technology Co. Ltd. on suspicion it was operating an illegal casino. Some 25 executives and employees were detained in the raid’s wake, with another six detained two months later.