A decision has been made for a China online poker ban which will hurt the industry throughout Asia and beyond, says Hong Kong Poker Players Association managing director Stephen Lai. According to Macau-based Inside Asian Gaming, as of June 1 online poker and the promotion of the game via all social media channels will be banned. Poker has experienced a rapid rise in China despite the fact people are unable to play for money and Lai said the decision to ban it altogether would have a negative impact on places such as Macau, Manila and South Korea’s Jeju island. “It…

New York’s online poker efforts could be getting a serious shot in the arm thanks to growing support in the one legislative chamber it has historically struggled in. Per OnlinePokerReport, the Assembly version of the online poker pitch, A 5250, could soon quadruple its number of sponsors, which would bode well for its chances there. The New York State Senate has, on more than one occasion, passed an online poker bill. The Senate bill most recently cleared a committee vote in January. The man spearheading the bill in the Senate, Republican State Senator John Bonacic, expects the measure to clear…

WSOP.com and 888Poker have submitted for testing their new poker software. The hope is to grow US online poker via regulatory bodies in Delaware, Nevada and New Jersey, with the goal of pooling players from all three U.S. states upon the anticipated approval by all jurisdictions – a major step for gaming operators in the U.S. The linking of all three states is hopeful to go live on Tuesday, May 1 and would allow customers in Delaware, Nevada and New Jersey to play poker against each other, if final approval is granted from all jurisdictions. This shared-liquidity* gives way for…

The Washington State Gambling Commission has tweeted that it has been receiving questions about free play poker sites, such as PokerStars, denying access to state residents. A recent ruling by Ninth Circuit of U.S. Court of Appeals stated that social casino games are illegal under the State of Washington’s existing gambling laws. It began back in 2015 after a woman lost over $1,000 in virtual chips. She sued Churchill Downs, the then-parent company of Big Fish Casino over the loss. Under Washington law, gambling is “risking something of value upon the outcome of a contest of chance.” It all boils…

PokerStars is to go live in India from the middle of next month as the poker site enters a potential market of more than a billion people. Rational Intellectual Holdings Ltd and its India licensee, Sachiko Gaming Private Ltd, have announced that the PokerStars India website will commence operations on April 17. It was announced earlier this month that Pokerstars.in would launch as a replacement for Khelplay, a website owned by Sachiko Gaming division Sugal & Damani. Khelplay ceased operations on March 15. More on the launch of PokerStars in India at iGaming Business

The overall picture of New Jersey online poker is stagnant, while other internet gambling is showing significant growth since the industry launched in November 2013. Last year delivered another growth spurt of nearly 25% and put the total gross gaming revenue over the $770 million mark at the end of 2017. The dissected picture, however, shows that the revenue increases have been coming primarily from the online casino games sector, as online poker has been on a relatively consistent downswing for more than a year. Whether the market is saturated or operators are simply uninterested in pursuing a larger poker…