What is preventing the growth of online poker in China? (CRYP 2Q05 conf call quotes)

CryptoLogic (ticker: CRYP), a software and services provider to the
worldwide Internet gaming market reported Q2 2005 earnings results last week. Here are key quotes from President and CEO Lewis Rose:

....Well, clearly if the payment processes (editor: processors) are successful in developing ways in which player cans deposit money in China, it will be a significant opportunity for us, and in Asia in general. At the moment, as we have said in the past, there are two significant constraints or restraints in our ability to grow in the Asian markets. The one is payment options, and the other is the legality of on-line gaming in the various jurisdictions in Asia. There is the expectation, the full expectation that, with time, Asia will become a significant contributor to the online gaming industry. The unknown question right now....is exactly when that will be. I don't think it's going to be in the short term.

.....We are see some movement and some growth, but not the type of growth that you would expect, given the prevalence of Asian gambling, the sophistication of mobile and other electronic devices. It's disproportion to the actual, straight forward, real money on-line gaming that we're seeing.

(Quotes are from the CCBN StreetEvents transcript.)

Comment: Speaking of payment processing, eBay (ticker: EBAY) recently launched PayPal in China. PayPal China will offer an alternative to Alibaba's Alipay. Will online transactions take off in China as a result of these new payment options? Not likely. Analysts predict this will happen once credit cards become more prevalent and a cultural shift takes place.

CRYP chart.

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