«How to Launch Online Casinos in Asian Countries

Not once have we heard that at present the largest online gambling market is in Asia. Of course, we are also aware of the passion that Asian gamblers feel for gaming, of their willingness to spend lots of money on casinos, etc. But does it all mean that Western online gaming operators should do all possible to integrate in the Asian market? The answer is actually no, they shouldn’t. Maybe it is worth taking the risk if the company is large and has sufficient funds. Smaller companies have extremely little chance to survive there.

Last week in Macao there was organized iGaming Asia Congress, the only event of its kind dwelling upon the Asian market of gambling services. It is quite possible that this congress is unique because in Asia this sphere of services is new yet intensively developing. Here we put stress on the term ‘new’. Right now there are too many obstacles that foreign representatives of online gambling face and most of those obstacles are closely related to the insufficient level of development of the Asian market of online gaming facilities. And this is exactly what all those operators who dare take the risk should pay their attention to.

1. Diversity of the Asian Market

According to the 2013 statistics Asia is the most densely populated continent in the world, with a population of 4.3 billion people. If you compare this information to North America with its population of 300 million, you will immediately know how varied people living in the countries within the continent are. The Asian gambling market implies, although very relatively, China, Japan, and South Korea. It is very possible that some of us living on another continent might see no difference between these countries. Yet we should always keep in mind that their cultures, languages, and preferences in games, methods of payments and many other aspects greatly vary. We should also understand that it is impossible to conquer the whole of the Asian market of online gambling at a time. It would be more reasonable to focus on one single region and concentrate exclusively on its players.

2. Legitimacy of Gambling in China

At present in China all kinds of online gambling as well as online gaming in general are totally illegal. If you are planning on getting into the Chinese market of online entertainment, bear in mind that you will immediately break the law of the country.

3. Differences in Preferences

This topic can be discussed for ages, but we know for a fact that in Japan people are absolutely indifferent to western slot machines. They are obsessed with Pachinko. Being an online gambling operator you will probablyfirst want to thoroughly study people’s preferences and only then develop an individual content for each of the Asian countries. You can follow the example of the best Macao casinos. Navigating through the densely populous Asian market using your own patterns and stereotypes is as difficult as conquering the European or American markets relying only on your intuition.

4. Social Networks

Nowadays services of social networks, such as Facebook, Google and Apple, are widely and successfully used to promote online gambling. But have you ever given thought to what social networks are used in China, South Korea and Japan? According to the recent statistics, only 5-10% of these three countries’ people use western networks for communication. Of course, if you are still interested in launching your own gambling site in those countries, then the following information will be of great help to you:

WeChat – main social network in China

Line – main social network in Japan

KakaoTalk – main social network in South Korea

We strongly recommend that operators willing to launch their online casino business in Asia think twice and take into great consideration the above mentioned information.