With its widespread following among Chinese and other Asians, mahjong looks set to take the gaming world by storm. Still, considerable challenges must be overcome before both land-based and online operators can cash in on mahjong, as they have with poker
There is much excitement in the Asian gaming markets over Mahjong, with pundits asking: “Will Mahjong become the next P2P [peer-to-peer] giant?” With over 350 million mahjong players worldwide – several times more than poker players – there certainly is potential for Mahjong to surpass poker as the most successful land-based and online P2P game in the gaming industry.
The high player-base has been nurtured over hundreds if not thousands of years. Mahjong as we know it today was founded in Ningbo, China around 1850, but some sources trace its origins all the way back to Confucius – assertions that Confucius himself developed the game are likely to be apocryphal. The unique blend of skill, luck and tile iconology of four winds, dragons and “fa” (wealth) symbols appeals to the Asian sense of strategy and success. Throughout time mahjong has kept friends and families huddled around square tables rattling tiles for hours, sometimes days.
Where Mahjong Stands Now
The internet has taken Mahjong out of the living room into the commercial arena. As P2P game platforms have taken root in China, Mahjong is seeing a surge of online activity. Total “play for fun” mahjong usage is clocking in around 250,000 to 300,000 concurrent players at any given time during the day. This number will continue to rise as it is still early days for online mahjong – around 3 years since the major players were established.
The play-for-fun sites each have their own identity; some attract high school and college kids that like to dress up their mahjong avatars in baggy jeans, sneakers and other hip virtual gear. Other P2P sites are less fashion conscious and aim to provide a semiprofessional mahjong environment focused more on serious mahjong competition.
When Will They “Play for Real?”
On the whole there has been minimal if any translation of “play for fun” players to “play for real,” but serious contenders are gathering their online and land-based wares in preparation to stake a claim in wide open terrain.
As these contenders approach the market they will enjoy the following inherent qualities of Mahjong that will help build online and land-based player liquidity.
1. Easy: Basic Mahjong is easy to learn. You can buy a mahjong set for roughly the same price you can buy cards and chips. Friends and family play mahjong at home, in backrooms, basements – wherever you can fit a 2×2 table
2. Sport: China has officially declared mahjong a national sport, but anyone, of any physical build can compete in this sport. Remind you of poker?
3. Variable price points: Online mahjong rooms can be built with multiple price points. Are you a beginner and want to try your luck? Go to the “el cheapo” room. Are you confident in your tile building skills? Go large on the high-roller table.
4. Anyone can win? There are several hands in a Mahjong game. To win a game you have to be skilled, but it is more than likely you will win at least one hand. This is what keeps players hooked.
5. Tournament play: As tournaments evolve so will the “play for real” player base. Beginners like the fact that for a small entry fee they could be a big winner. More skilled players like the big prizes, which they are more favored to win.
6. Stars will be born: As tournaments grow in stature and television enters the picture, Mahjong will spawn its own group of celebrities and TV personalities.
Even with the above advantages, it is still too early to call Mahjong a guaranteed success. There are still considerable challenges for software developers and land-based operators.
1. Where is The Texas Hold ‘em?: Mahjong will need to acquire a standard rule set that can easily cross boundaries. There are about as many mahjong rules as there are Chinese dialects, almost one for each locality, including rules for Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong. A major factor in popularizing online and land based poker tournaments was the rapid adoption of Texas Hold ‘em as the de facto rule set.
2. Collusion: Of all the play for fun games we tested, we have yet to find one that adequately prevents collusion. This is not a major issue in “play for fun,” where the business model is to build online communities and sell virtual product. In the “play for real” environment it goes without saying that anti-collusion will be critical to maintaining credibility among players. Gaming software provider Playtech is working in cooperation with Tanksoft on groundbreaking AI technology that looks promising in overcoming the collusion issues.
3. Fashionable: Mahjong is often associated with backroom activities and usually kept hush-hush in regular public banter, much the same as poker was before it exploded on to the television screen. The goal will be to raise the stature of Mahjong among young adults in Asia to the point they talk excitedly about the upcoming Friday night Mahjong party.
Where is Mahjong Headed?
Once the operators capitalize on the pluses and overcome the challenges, we will see a potentially explosive market for mahjong that will be heavily driven by high profile tournaments in Macau. Players from across Asia will compete in online satellite tournaments to win a seat at multi-million dollar tournaments hosted in Macau’s upcoming mega-resorts.
With huge player numbers, Las Vegas-style glitz, worldwide TV distribution and star power all tied together with the ubiquity of online gaming, mahjong is looking more and more like the next big gaming juggernaut. The question is “who will get there first?”
