Online gambling in China may not seem likely, but execs at Pacific Net exec think so

One country that has for a long time shown strong resistance to online gambling has been The People's Republic of China. They have for some time been strongly against it. Now news has been released that the country is seriously considering the legalization of this source of entertainment says Pacific Net CEO, Tony Tong. Pacific Net sells Baccarat machines. According to Tong it is likely that the country will license such efforts by establishing branches in Macau. This is an island where land based casinos already exist.

Tong also reports that in CNet News it is stated that about 40% of house winnings in Macau is going to the Chinese government in the fork of taxes. If online gambling were to be permitted in China it would be a great boost for government revenues as a result of the many mainline companies that would be more than ready to gain access the Asian market.

GigaMedia also hopes to get a foothold into China. This is the company, which purchased Grand Virtual, the Canadian online company. This Taiwanese based group is also a vendor of software used for playing online poker as well as other games. The company has a site called FunTown which it claims is already the largest Mahjong site in the world. Players can use the site to compete for both points and prizes.

Of those who use the Fun Town site, over 50% are reported as spending in access of 100 hours a week on the website. EverestPoker, a quickly rising poker site in Europe, is also the work of GigaMedia.

One of GigaMedia’s representatives is reported as saying that the U.K. as well will probably grow into a major center for online gaming.

Because those who gamble in China are not in favor of random number generators, according to Tong, the Pacific Net's Baccarat machines aren't like other computerized gambling machines. These machines actually stream live video by way of the Internet of a live dealer who is dealing real hands.

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