Ongame launches the world’s first Texas Hold’em sites in Chinese

Sweden based Ongame is further consolidating its position as a world leader in digital poker by launching the world's first Texas Hold’em sites in Chinese. The sites, which are being launched under the name eCardroom, are part of PokerNetwork and offer games for both real money and play money.

Texas Hold’em is one of the world’s most popular games: around 100 million people worldwide play regularly. Thanks to growing Internet use, the number of Texas Hold’em players is rising steadily. This strategic card game, once limited to land-based casinos and private gatherings, can now be played at any time and anywhere through the Internet. “The Chinese market offers enormous potential,” said Patrik Selin, CEO of Ongame. “The Chinese love to play cards, they appreciate games of skill, and Internet usage is growing rapidly. More than 100 million Chinese now have access to the Internet. Only the US has more Internet users, and China is expected to pass the US in the near future. The eCardroom brand consists of two sites: • eCardroom.cn is a play money site designed for the tightly regulated Chinese market. At eCardroom.cn, Chinese can play entertaining Texas Hold’em poker free, without risk. Ongame generates revenue from the site through ad sales, among other things. • The other Chinese site – eCardroom.com – is a real money site in Chinese designed for players outside China who speak Chinese. “The Chinese market outside China is huge,” added Patrik Selin. “There are over 35 million Chinese living outside China.” By being the first to launch Texas Hold’em in Chinese, Ongame is consolidating its position as one of the world’s biggest providers of digital poker. Measured in terms of pots, the company’s PokerNetwork is the fourth largest network in the world, with over 4 million registered players and customers in over 140 countries. The company is steadily expanding to capture market share in new and existing markets.