Online "one-yuan deals" have evolved into a disguised form of lottery, which is banned in China. (Photo/Beijing Youth Daily)
(ECNS) -- Online "one-yuan deals" have evolved into a disguised form of lottery, which is banned in China, and have victimized some irrational netizens, warned a special commission under the China General Chamber of Commerce in a statement issued on Wednesday.
One-yuan deals used to be an invention by Chinese e-commerce businesses to attract customers and boost sales. However, a random survey conducted recently by the commission on 23 online shopping websites and 17 apps showed such offers were actually a disguised form of gambling, according to a report by Beijing Youth Daily.
Such deals are attracting many followers unaware of the pitfalls on China's online shopping sites and social networking apps, but due to a lack of supervision these offers may turn out to be fraudulent, the commission said.
A man surnamed Dong, based in Beijing, said he has invested a total of 575,000 yuan ($87,670) in one-yuan deals and the like since January. He and 30-plus others are now making attempts to recover their losses.
Dong recalled that he won an Apple 6S after investing just a little more than 10 yuan through a previous lottery app, which had turned to one-yuan deals following a nationwide ban on online lottery sales. The success lured him to make more investments without any doubt. Prizes offered by the site ranged from pre-paid phone cards to Apple phones and Audi Q5s, he said.
A law panel present at the commission said sites offering one-yuan deals are suspected of operating in violation of the country's law against unfair competition as well as massive tax evasion.
