The poker boom is still to occur in China. Many betting companies have tried to get into the Chinese gambling market, and also tried to get a poker boom going like it did in the rest of the world a few years ago. But so far not with such a great success. So what is preventing poker to grow in China? First off, China is not officially open to online poker sites, and the current laws are unclear as to the punishments or reprimand that face players and providers of online gaming. Another reason is the deposit options.
Many Chinese banks and credit card companies will not allow direct deposits to online gaming companies, and the ones that allow them to deposit usually charges big fees. To this date, Neteller, and other popular online payment services do not accept transfers from Chinese citizens. There you have the 2 of the main reasons why the poker boom in China still hasn't occured. So, what can start the poker boom in China when so many things are preventing people there from playing? A poker movie is maybe the answer?!
Poker King - The movie that hopefully will start the poker boom in China
In order to get the interest up for poker in China, and also hopefully change the laws in the future, Chan Hing-Kai, is about to make the biggest poker movie ever - "Poker King". Poker King is going to be a big production with no one less than Johnny Chan (10 WSOP bracelets) in it, but also other famous poker players from China. The movie will be about two poker rivals who both are aiming for the WSOP title, and according to Johnny Chan, the movie has great potential to become even bigger than Rounders (poker movie).
"Say there are over one billion Chinese speaking people in the world. Now compare that to the United States and their 300 million people. You can see that this could be huge. Rounders gave poker a new lease of life in the West. I think this movie could kick start a new poker boom in Asia."
It's hard to disagree with what Chan says, especially since he was one of the persons behind Rounders and its huge success.
"I had a fantastic time when we recorded Rounders. I spent a lot of time behind the camera and taught Matt Damon, John Malkovich, and Edward Norton to play poker. I also starred in the moive myself, and thanks to that I got recognized outside the poker circles."
