The main markets for online gambling has always been in the US and Europe. Not until the US congress took a firm stance against online gambling, banning credit-card companies from taking payments from such sites. Many online casinos closed down and pulled out of the country. Despite the legalities concerning the US, online gambling still remains to be the most lucrative market in the internet. Taking full advantage of the present technologies the web has to offer, industry analysts predict the online gambling market will almost double to an estimated $22.4 billion by 2010, even with the US market under deep waters.

It’s no surprise that when US online gambling firms started to crumble, companies that withstood the tempest crossed continents and turned to Asia. Even in conventional casinos, Macao, through the help of Chinese gamblers, overtook Las Vegas’ position as the top gambling destination. Although China has some provisions that ban casinos, online betting or online gambling remains in the grey area since it never expressly said that these are forbidden. According to a review, China will be allowing online gambling in Macao and there are also other countries willing to host online gambling if China decides not to. The Philippines is already giving licenses for online gambling companies in Manila and in special economic zones in Cagayan.

Now, many companies are developing Asiatic variations of their online games. Cyber Arts, a leading online gambling software developer, produced an Asian variation of the online poker, called Chinese Poker. It’s basically a 13-card game developed for the Asian Market. For online casinos testing the oriental marketplace, Chinese poker is an online gambling software that’s great at acquiring more customers. There is a large element of luck that gives beginners a fair chance of winning the first few bets however when luck runs out that’s when strategic playing counts. Many companies are developing the online version of the traditional Japanese gambling game called, Pachinko. This game is a $ 250 billion industry – bigger than all the casinos in the world combined and now they are trying to get the same figure online.

In large part there is a big untapped market in Asia however not for long. Many online gambling operators already saw this opportunity and are currently under their drawing boards developing online gambling games that will be a potential hit in the Far East. As a Chinese proverb said, “If you must play, decide upon three things at the start: The rules of the game, the stakes and the quitting time.”

For more information, you can check on online gaming software and development

By Harold Blue
Harold Blue has been a leading online casino player for years and collects books and other reference materials for online gaming. He has been a copy contributor to online gambling sites. Currently, he is working with a team of online gaming software developers to create his own online casino site with more interactive features and nontraditional games included.