In what some call 'Chinese Black Friday,' the Chinese government has announced a crackdown on social poker games in the country. Starting June 1st, all apps offering poker in any form will be banned in China, and it will be prohibited to promote poker via social media channels. Google Play, the Apple App Store, the WeChat store, and other app stores will need to remove any apps related to poker, Asia-focused news sources confirm.
According to SoMuchPoker, the legal framework for this ordinance hasn't been published yet. The news site, dedicated primarily to the poker community living in the Asia Pacific region, added; "Additional clarifications or even changes are still possible until the enforcement of the ban."
OFFERING POKER IN ANY FORM WILL BE BANNED IN CHINA.
Inside Asian Gaming (Asgam.com) writes that Tencent, owner of the massively popular Asia orientated chat application WeChat and the ones running the Chinese expansion of the WSOP brand, has taken down its WSOP app.
Asgam also mentions that Ourgame, the Beijing based firm that bought the World Poker Tour in 2015 for $35 million, has released a statement announcing a close examination of the prospected crackdown.
“Now, with the alleged policy change, there will be no ‘play money’ poker in China, and you can’t talk about poker on social media. Chinese players won’t have a chance to practise, and they won’t get to know about legal poker events around Asia. Poker has gone back to square one in China,” Hong Kong Poker Players Association managing director Stephen Lai told the South China Morning Post.
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