{"id":78605,"date":"2018-05-24T08:30:38","date_gmt":"2018-05-24T15:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=78605"},"modified":"2018-05-24T10:51:50","modified_gmt":"2018-05-24T17:51:50","slug":"pokerstars-tosses-hong-kong-real-money-players-into-the-muck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/pokerstars-tosses-hong-kong-real-money-players-into-the-muck\/","title":{"rendered":"PokerStars Tosses Hong Kong Real-Money Players into the Muck"},"content":{"rendered":"

For Hong Kong PokerStars players, real-money play is off limits. The online poker giant without warning announced the cessation of real-money options on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\"Hong
PokerStars’ decision to leave Hong Kong\u2019s online poker players high and dry is likely related to its deal with International Entertainment, but recent noises coming from the mainland may have helped it make up its mind. (Image: Eater)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In an email sent to players based in the special administrative region, it offered no specific reason for the move other than that it \u201cfrequently reviews commercial and regulatory developments around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

While gambling in mainland China is illegal, Hong Kong, which maintains a separate political and economic system, is a grayer area.<\/p>\n

The Hong Kong government allows some gambling through a few strictly regulated outlets, while the Hong Kong Jockey Club holds a monopoly on horse race wagering, lotteries and soccer betting.<\/p>\n

Unlicensed gambling is illegal, but the government has never passed a law specifically banning foreign operators from offering online gambling.<\/p>\n

Poker is a popular pastime with young people in Hong Kong, who increasingly prefer it to traditional Chinese games like Mah Jong. Live poker is permitted at several private clubhouses, provided the house does not take a rake.<\/p>\n

International Entertainment Deal<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Last week, however, PokerStars parent, the Stars Group, formed a partnership with Hong-Kong-based casino and hotels company, International Entertainment Corp<\/a>, which will allow it to operate land-based tournaments in \u201ccertain Asian counties\u201d under the PokerStars brand.<\/p>\n

\n

It\u2019s likely that the withdrawal from Hong Kong was a condition of the deal. International Entertainment is a public company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and its dalliance with a firm operating in a gray area of the law is unlikely to have pleased shareholders or stock market regulators.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Meanwhile, a recent crackdown on poker on the mainland may also have swayed PokerStars\u2019 decision. While Hong Kong is autonomous, operating under the principle of \u201cone country, two systems,\u201d it is not completely free of Beijing\u2019s political influence.<\/p>\n

And while Hong Kong enjoys freedoms and rights within its constitution that those on the mainland do not, many feel these are being steadily eroded by creeping Chinese control.<\/p>\n

Beijing Squeezes Poker<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Surprisingly, until recently, poker tournament play, unlike cash games, was tolerated on the Chinese mainland in certain areas regions because it was designated as a competitive \u201cmind sport,\u201d like chess. In 2015, the PokerStars APPT Nanjing Millions was raided and shut down by police, reportedly because cash games were being played on the sidelines.<\/p>\n

But last month, Chinese state media reported<\/a>\u00a0that poker tournaments would no longer be classified as competitive sports and that even online play-money social poker would be outlawed.<\/p>\n

This is likely to hurt poker tournaments in the region, whose fields were largely composed of Chinese mainlanders who had qualified online through free-to-play social poker apps.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For Hong Kong PokerStars players, real-money play is off limits. The online poker giant without warning announced the cessation of real-money options on Wednesday. In an email sent to players based in the special administrative region, it offered no specific reason for the move other than that it \u201cfrequently reviews commercial and regulatory developments around […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":78607,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,61],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPokerStars Tosses Hong Kong Real-Money Players into the Muck<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Hong Kong PokerStars players told real-money play no longer available. 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