TEAMING UP GAMING MARKET MOBILE CREATIVITY - Betsson AB

– THE ONLINE GAMING MAGAZINE – XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXBETTING ONTHE MIDDLEEveryone in theWest has heardabout the rise ofChina for the last20 years. Everyday we are beingfed astonishingstories about China'srapid change.There are many reasons why this isof interest but what stands out themost is that we are just in the beginningof this change. In spite of thespectacular growth, the average GDPper capita in China is still less than 10percent of the U.S. and only about 14percent of nearby Hong Kong. Whatwe are witnessing is the largest societalchange in history and it is not difficultto argue that the coming centurywill be a Chinese century. The UnitedKingdom owned the 19th century, theU.S. the 20th but the 21st will surelybelong to China.The Chinese gambling mindIn most parts of Asia and also in Chinanumerology and the perceived abilityto predict numbers is a reality. Mahjong— probably the most populargame in the world — is played everywhereand playing mahjong is an essentialpart of every Chinese wedding.In the West, Christianity labeledgambling as a sinful activity and thusit is generally speaking not seen as amoral activity. This is not the case inChina where Christianity has neverhad much influence. The belief infate is much stronger and gamblingis the ultimate way of allowing fate todecide whether you should becomericher or poorer. Thus, placing a largebet on a certain sports event or at theBaccarat table is rather viewed as aninvestment than a gamble. “Man proposes— God disposes.”Chinese lotteriesIn Mainland China the only formsof licensed gambling are operatedthrough China Sports Lottery andChina Welfare Lottery. These organizationssell a relatively wide variety ofproducts — traditional number lotteries,odds betting, scratch cards,various forms of high frequency lotteriesand they also operate a basicform of VLT halls.Internet gambling in ChinaToday one can roughly divide theChinese online market into offshore– 018 – –