Julia Panina, head of product marketing at EvenBet Gaming, highlights the appeal of localised card games and the peculiarities of customisation and localisation in Asia’s diverse gaming market.
Opinion.- Asia is a very peculiar region in terms of gaming preferences and in-demand card games. Many local projects are unknown and unpaid outside. Each has its variations, which differ in every other country.
In this article, Julia Panina, head of product marketing at EvenBet Gaming, explores the uniqueness of Asian card games and the peculiarities of customisation and localisation, sharing how you can profit from multi-gaming platforms.
The most popular games In Asia
Indonesia and Malaysia are included in the TOP 5 countries by online poker Google search results. Obviously, the first place goes to the United States, where the audience knows a lot about poker. But what do we know about Asia?
- Rummy: Online games are still developing in Asia, as many gamers prefer to play offline. For example, the popular Asian game Rummy was a family game played on holidays and gatherings at home for a long time. Now, it has more than 300 million online users in South and Southeast Asia. Around 4 out of every 10 card game players prefer playing rummy games in India, which serves around 76 per cent of the total traffic. Not long ago, it unexpectedly became in demand online and immediately gained enormous popularity.
There are several reasons for that: the younger generation spends more time playing online; there is more availability when earlier people only had an opportunity to play during family holidays or friendly meetings. Now you can take your phone wherever you are and turn on your favourite game. Moreover, we should not forget about the global popularisation of online.
- Teen Patti: The same is true for Teen Patti, one of the most popular and demanded games in China and Southeast Asia. Although it is still often played offline, it is displayed everywhere in the region and will become a smash hit online among all existing Indian diasporas and Asia as a whole.
- Hold’em and Omaha: According to internal research among EvenBet clients, Hold’em and Omaha are also very popular in India and concur with Rummy in terms of online popularity.
- Badugi: One of the most popular games in Korea. It is a poker variant where the goal is to achieve the lowest possible four-card hand.
Localisation and customisation:
It’s crucial to mention that Asia is a “multicoloured bouquet” where in every country, original games are modified and acquired the flavour of a certain region. As an example, from Rummy today, we have:
- Tien Len for Vietnam and Cambodia
- Tong-Its for the Philippines
- Remi for China
- Pai Kang and Thai Rummy for Thailand
- Tu Sac for Vietnam
Some of these games are based on Rummy, and some differ because of language and cultural diversity. People in Asian countries interact with each other while adapting things to their cultural code.
At Evenbet Gaming, due to our 20 years of experience in poker software development, we know all these cultural peculiarities and understand the basics of which games are more appropriate to every specific region. We work with operators from different countries, adapting and implementing games for their needs and the mental peculiarities of gamers from a specific region. The most vivid examples are the Big 2 and Call Break Games, which we implemented for audiences in India, China, the Philippines, and Nepal. The same goes for Turkey, with its specific culture, which we were still able to adapt to with our Turkish poker game.
Game customisation requires not only language changes but also the gameplay, number of cards, and bonuses. For example, 13 Card Rummy is the most popular in India, where players receive 13 cards each, and the rules recommend forming at least one pure sequence and one impure sequence for a declaration. At the same time, in Gin Rummy, 2-4 players are dealing with 10 cards each, and a player can win without having a completely valid set of cards.
In such cases, we customise game mechanics with professionals who understand the poker and card games kitchen, which is like a specific chef’s kitchen. If a chef doesn’t know how to cook, then he won’t be able to prepare a complex Asian dish. Not everyone is ready to dive into the diverse Asian game market.
Multi-gaming platforms
Today, multi-gaming platforms are like gaming supermarkets, and they are becoming increasingly popular among players in the Asian region. When one app, well-known like WeChat, has all possible games and solutions with all existing formats, it is becoming a metaverse in itself.
For example, MPL (Mobile Premier League) launched such an app in Southeast Asia. After gaining great results and popularity, they are now developing in Europe and America. This app has poker, card games, slots, arcades, fantasy games, sports betting, and much more. They even put games such as “Make Words” that no one had ever sold or monetised before.
EvenBet card games also joined that super app, allowing the operator to offer exactly what is desired in a particular region. Developing quality products with constant updates, exclusive features, and deliberate marketing strategies allowed EvenBet Gaming to enter the market and succeed for many years. Moreover, we are always ready to improve the game and add desired features and mechanics upon the operator’s request.
Closed markets
Still, many Asian markets, such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Indonesia, are closed. They exist inside their regions, and all the information about gamers’ preferences is locked. Quite often, European companies face difficulties in finding and using such data. This is why it is crucial to work in Asia personally, have your country managers there, and research every specific market in detail. Gather as much information as possible and communicate with local operators. Only this way you can get valuable insights and build your brand successfully. Using Google search, you will never know which games an ordinary family plays at home in Thailand, even though it might be a game with millions of users.
Interest in poker games is rising in many Asian regions. For example, the Philippines renewed its Asian Poker Tour in 2024, which is a major event and one of the biggest Asian offline poker tournaments with thousands of players. The same popular tournament with a huge number of participants takes place in Vietnam.
Conclusion
Poker and card games in Asia have bright prospects in both online and offline formats. Gamers there are interested not only in their local solutions but also in popular worldwide card games. Asia was a market where life-dealer games were popular for a long time. But things have changed, and today, operators who make games that are in demand in a specific local market will certainly receive competitive advantages.
The emergence of multi-gaming platforms underscores the growing interest in varied gaming experiences within the region. EvenBet Gaming’s research shows the rising popularity and potential for lucrative gameplay. Through localisation efforts with 20 years of experience and over 200 poker projects launched worldwide, we ensure that games resonate with players across different Asian countries, adapting to cultural nuances and gameplay preferences.