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Mahjong Software Acquired by World Mahjong Tour
by Edward Rogers, News Staff Writer
February 15, 2007
As the rise of mahjong continues strong, reaching
further into both the online gambling industry and that
of the Western world, companies with gaming interests
are making moves to ensure the continued expansion and
survival of this blossoming sector. Take for instance,
World Mahjong Tour Inc. (fitting name, eh?), who just
took over the Chinese online gambling software firm,
945i.com.
Unfamiliar to English ears, 945i is based in Chengdu,
China, and is approximately only three years old. Having
already developed a suite of traditional Chinese games
into an online software platform, including Sichuan and
Chinese Mahjong, Chinese Chess, Junqi, Traktor Poker and
more, 945i certainly has come a long way in just three
short years.
While the Western World has grown more warm to online
mahjong, the Asian market is still the primary force
behind its demand. Knowing this will not likely change,
it appears that World Mahjong Tour will be marketing the
games in China. World Mahjong Tour founders, David Wang
and Pierre Wuu made it clear they intend to capitalize
on the "fastest growing gaming market in the world", and
that they intend to do so with its own branded websites.
Being a software provider, this will ultimately
consist of licensing deals with direct service
operators, which is the same type of relationship that
online casinos have with casino software developers. In
other words, this position will give a great amount of
responsibility to World Mahjong Tour in how the Asian
online gaming industry is shaped. Just like pioneering
online casino software developers Microgaming and
Cryptologic continue to lead the way in online gambling
innovations and protocols, WMT will have great influence
in the same respect.
The acquisition will allow WMT to immediately begin
offering both play-money and real-money online gambling.
However, knowing all too well that in order to stay at
the top WMT will need to continue developing new
technologies, they have hired 945i's founder, Garret Lin
as their new Director of Technology.
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