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China to Ban All Online Poker Apps Starting June 1

Americans still remember April 15, 2011, also known as poker’s “Black Friday.” The crackdown by the US government on online poker sites had a catastrophic impact on the US poker industry and the global industry as a whole.

On Sunday, various sourced announced that China has instituted their own version of Black Friday after announcing a crackdown on poker apps and that poker is no longer being recognized as an official sport.

China’s Black Friday Begins June 1

Starting June 1, all apps that offer online poker in any form are explicitly banned in China. This includes any form of “social media” poker apps such as Zynga Poker. In addition, the ban outright bans any app that offers online poker using cryptocurrency payment options. Many players opt to play at crypto poker sites to avoid issues in funding their online poker accounts.

Also, app stores will be forced to remove all poker apps to prevent Chinese citizens from downloading them. This type of ban is nothing new as Chinese app stores have banned various apps in the past for similar reasons.

Next, social media sites in China are prohibited from promoting online poker in any form. If you are in the US or other countries with restrictions on online poker, you will often still see ads promoting sites and apps on various social media sites.

What Will Be the Impact on the Game in China?

In recent years, major poker tours like the World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour have focused efforts on expanding into China. The first World Series of Poker China was held last year and the Super High Roller Bowl had their own even in China in March.

Many companies such as Ourgame (owners of the WPT) and Tencent (WSOP China sponsor) used their online apps as feeders to their live events. Players were able to win seats into live events and hone their poker skills online.

This crackdown will effectively stifle live poker growth in China and will likely force some poker events into extinction. Some have already commented that the WSOP China and Super High Roller Bowl China are unlikely to return now after this announcement.

WPT parent company Ourgame has already announced that they plan to change their strategy for China, which will likely mean the suspension of live poker events in the region. Tencent has already reacted and taken down their WSOP app ahead of the June 1 deadline.

“Poker has gone back to square one,” stated Hong Kong Players Association managing director Stephen Lai. “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.”

Crackdown Should Not Come as a Surprise

While many in the industry show surprise and dismay over the recent announcement, anyone that is knowledgeable about Chinese policy regarding the internet should not be shocked. China is famous for being incredibly restrictive regarding internet usage.

China has extensive restrictions on their internet and blocks a massive number of online sites, including many popular social media sites such as Facebook. The sites that are permitted to operate in the country are under heavy monitoring and those that use them are well aware that they are being monitored.

This is just another way that China censors their population and can control the growth of yet another market. While it is possible that legal online poker will come to China in the future, the only way it will happen is if it is heavily regulated and monitored by the Chinese government.

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