Alibaba to make online casino gambling debut

source: Reuters

China's biggest online retailer, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, plans to make its debut in the online casino gambling market with the launch of a new platform, Reuters has learned.

The new platform will allow users in China to place bets on games such as blackjack and roulette, as well as bet on horse races, people familiar with the matter said. The company is still awaiting official approval from Chinese regulators to launch the service.

The move into casino gambling is a strategic shift for Alibaba, which has focused mainly on e-commerce and payments. The new platform will be operated by affiliate company Ant Financial Services Group, which runs China's biggest online payments system Alipay.

"This is really going to test whether Alibaba has the same Midas touch in gambling as it does in retail," said one person familiar with the matter.

Alibaba's move into gambling comes at a time when revenue from Macau, the world's biggest gaming hub, is under pressure as China's President Xi Jinping cracks down on corruption. Revenues in Macau fell 34 percent in February from a year earlier.

Alibaba expands into online gaming with new casino site

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, China's biggest e-commerce company, is expanding into online gaming with the launch of a new casino site.

The new site, called "Yunfeng Casino", offers live and online gambling services and is operated by Alibaba's mobile phone unit, Yunfeng Financial Holdings Ltd.

"This is an important step in our journey to becoming a comprehensive digital entertainment platform," said Jonathan Lu, Alibaba's chief executive officer.

The global online gaming market is expected to reach $81.5 billion by 2018, according to research firm Gartner Inc., and Alibaba is hoping to tap into that growth. The company already operates China's largest online shopping platforms, Taobao and Tmall, as well as the country's most popular online payment service, Alipay.

Yunfeng Casino offers more than 300 slot games and other casino games such as blackjack and roulette. It also has a social networking platform that allows players to chat with each other and share tips on how to beat the odds.

Alibaba kicked off its gambling services with a soft launch in May, testing the site with a group of invited users. The company said it had attracted over 1 million registered users within two months of the launch.

China has long been a hotbed for gambling activity, but most of it takes place offline in illegal casinos. The government has been trying to crack down on illegal gambling activity in recent years, but the crackdown has had little impact on the industry's size. Online gambling is also illegal in China, but that has not stopped Chinese companies from entering the market.

In addition to Alibaba, two other major Chinese Internet companies — Baidu Inc. and Tencent Holdings Ltd — have also made moves into the online gaming space in recent years. Baidu acquired an online gaming company called Apollo Gaming last year while Tencent launched its own online gaming platform in March.

Alibaba set to launch online casino and gaming platform

Alibaba, the Chinese tech giant, is all set to launch an online casino and gaming platform. The new platform will be called Taobao Casino, and it will offer a wide range of games such as poker, roulette, and blackjack.

The new platform is expected to go live in the first quarter of 2019. It will be available in China only, at least initially. Alibaba has been granted a license to operate an online casino by the Chinese government.

Taobao Casino is expected to be a big hit with Chinese gamers. The market for online gambling is huge in China, and Alibaba is well positioned to capitalize on it. The company has already launched a number of other gaming platforms, including one that allows players to bet on horse races.

Alibaba is not the only company targeting the Chinese online gambling market. There are a number of other players, including Tencent and NetEase. These companies are all looking to tap into the lucrative market for online gambling in China.

The potential for growth in this market is huge. In 2017, the value of the Chinese online gambling market was estimated at $38 billion. That figure is expected to grow significantly over the next few years.

Alibaba Gaming enters the online casino market

On the heels of announcing their plans to enter the online gaming market, Alibaba, one of the world's leading technology companies, has announced their foray into the online casino market. This latest development is in line with the company's overall strategy to become a global frontrunner in digital entertainment.

The Chinese tech giant has unveiled its new platform known as "Alibaba Cloud Gaming" which is designed to provide gamers with a high-quality experience that meets international standards. Alibaba Cloud Gaming will offer a library of games from some of the best developers in the industry, such as Ubisoft and EA, making it one of the most comprehensive platforms of its kind.

In order to fuel its growth in this new market, Alibaba has also struck partnerships with several top gaming companies. These include Tencent Holdings, Japan's Sony Corporation, and South Korea's Netmarble Games.

With this move, Alibaba is looking to take on rivals like Amazon and Microsoft who are also making an aggressive push into cloud gaming. In addition to aiming to capture a significant share of the burgeoning global market for cloud gaming, Alibaba is also looking to popularize competitive gaming in China.

This is an important goal for the company since esports has been growing rapidly in popularity in recent years. Esports tournaments are now being broadcast on television networks all over the world, and they often attract large audiences numbering in the millions.

Interestingly, Alibaba isn't limiting its involvement in esports purely to competitive gaming. The company is also looking to develop esports content for live streaming platforms likeNetflix and YouTube. This venture will be spearheaded by Youku Tudou, one of Alibaba's video streaming subsidiaries.

Youku Tudou already has a strong track record in this area having streamed several major esports tournaments in China over the past few years. With its new initiative known as "Esports+", Youku Tudou is looking to further expand its presence in this growing segment of the video streaming market.

It will be interesting to see how Alibaba's foray into online casinos and esports plays out over the coming years. Both industries are poised for rapid growth and it looks like Alibaba is determined to be a major player in both of them.

Alibaba launches free play online casino

The Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has announced the launch of its new online casino, which will be free to play.

The new casino, which is being launched in partnership with the American gaming company MGM, will offer a range of games including poker, blackjack and roulette.

Alibaba's move into the online casino industry comes as the company looks to capitalise on the growing demand for gambling in China. The country's online gambling market was worth $59.8 billion in 2018, and is expected to grow to $81.5 billion by 2023.

MGM is also looking to capitalise on this growth, with the company announcing last month that it plans to invest $800 million in new casino resorts in China.

Alibaba's new casino will be available in English and Chinese, and will be open to players from around the world.