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A number of Texas Hold’Em style mobile games are being reported blocked as part of a crackdown by the Chinese government. The action commenced some time on Monday it appears.
Poker King and Poker Tribe were among the largest victims. Both companies reportedly took in close to $7.2 million in bets a day.
Many content sites have also been banned.
Cardchat warns of the negative implications this move could have on the Chinese gambling hub of Macau.
The attacks on online poker have been going on for far longer, however. In April, the Chinese government made all social poker apps illegal, causing Tencent to remove the play-money World Series of Poker app from its marketplace, among other poker games. The government also banned any messages deemed to be promoting the game of poker, something that was seen as a huge blow to the growing Chinese poker community.
These moves have also impacted the poker industry in Macau, though operators debated just how much they would be hurt by the lack of online poker in mainland China. Several major tournaments scheduled to take place in Macau this year have been cancelled, with the International Poker Tour Macau at the Venetian being cancelled in May, while the Asian Poker Tour moved their year-end finale from the Chinese enclave to the Philippines.
- Ace King, Gambling911.com
