Mahjong Next Wave in Online Skill and Cash-wager Gaming

LAS VEGAS, Sept. 22 /CNW Telbec/ - The game of Mahjong, with roots in China going back nearly 2000 years, may soon serve as a stunning example of old becoming new. Already played globally for fun by hundreds of millions of people, making it the worlds most widely played skill game, Mahjong is now poised to lead the next wave in online cash-wager gaming.

Speaking to a conference audience of online gaming operators and suppliers interested in skill games and their association to gambling, Adriaan Brink, President of Mahjong Mania, suggested that "skill-based online Mahjong could soon emulate and possibly even overtake Poker in terms of numbers of players and money wagered". Mahjong Mania, a wholly owned subsidiary of Events International Holding Corporation (TSXV Exchange: "EIH"), is a developer and marketer of the world's only for-cash and aggregate play version of Mahjong software for integration into online casino and sports betting networks.

"Online Poker was nascent in 2000, and look at it now," said Brink. "Online skill gaming is the way of the future, particularly in areas of the world where populations have an appetite for cash-wager games and where Internet access is on the rise. Looking ahead 5 years, it is not hard to see that Asia will dominate the Internet in terms of connectivity and users". There were already 90 million Internet users in China at the end of last year, and it will not be long before that country ranks as the leading Internet population. "I believe this same population will also become the largest universe of online Mahjong gaming players", stated Brink.

Sue Schneider, Chief Executive of River City Group, organizers of the In-depth: Skill Games Conference, reinforced Brink's observations about the future of online games involving skills rather than merely luck. "Our conference attracted a packed attendance of leading online casino and sports book operators, all of whom were very interested in the Internet skill games and the ways in which these products can be incorporated into each operator's total online product offering".

Brink pointed out that the Asia-Pacific region already constitutes the world's largest Internet market, exceeding both Europe and North America. Usage is growing annually at 57% and nearly 150 million users, of which 80 million have access to broadband, are expected to be online by the end of 2006. China reportedly has 54 million gamblers and the country's gaming market revenue reached almost $300 million in 2004, an increase of 47.9% over the previous year. IDC expects China's online gaming market to show steady growth at 35% per annum over the next five years, achieving a staggering $1.3 billion by 2009. "In such a scenario, it doesn't stretch the imagination too far to see Mahjong, as the Asian game, dominating the Internet skill gaming market."

The online gaming market already tops $11 billion annually and market watchers expect it to grow at 26 percent per year over the nine-year period, 2001 to 2010, reaching almost $25 billion by 2010. Datamonitor, a research firm following this market, predicted online gaming would be worth $8.25 billion in 2003 and $11 billion in 2004 on its way to reaching $125 billion by 2015.

Mahjong Mania is the only provider of tested, market-ready Mahjong gaming software complete with back room support systems. The company has signed licenses with a number of online casinos and the first of these, DrHo888, is already offering cash-wager play on its site. The game also will soon be available on the Betex network. Mahjong Mania will derive income from licensing agreements and from a share of casino income from each game played.

Press Release - 2005-09-23 01:55:42