Some of the games offered at online casinos have originated in the Far East Asian countries. There are two reasons why these games draw significant traffic at online casinos. The first reason is that many online players are of Asian origin, even though they may be citizens of the United States and European countries. These players have an affinity for Asian online casino games. For the other players these games provide a welcome change from the regular fare offered at online casinos.

In the Table Games category, the popular Asian online casino games are Pai Gow Poker and Sic Bo. As presently offered almost all their original Asian character has been transformed. Only the name and some markings on the table remind players of their Asian origin. In the olden days Pai Gow Poker was played with Chinese dominoes. The present online version is played with a 53 cards deck, with the joker included. In Pai Gow Poker the player has to make two hands from seven cards. One hand is of five cards and the other hand is of two cards. The player’s hands are compared with the dealer’s hands as per the usual poker hand rankings and payouts are made according to the stated rules. Sic Bo is an online casino game like Craps played with dice. However, whereas Craps is played with two dice, Sic Bo is played with three dice. The bets in Sic Bo are much simpler and get settled in one roll. Typical bets include the total of the three dice rolled and dice combinations like doubles and triples.

The software provider Playtech offers a special games category called Asian Games at its online casinos. One of the games is an adaption for online casino wagering of Mahjong. In the real world Mahjong is an extremely popular game and legend has it that it was invented by the Chinese philosopher Confucius. However, the online version is not as popular because the skill element has been eliminated and it is like any other fixed odds gamed dependent only on luck. In Playtech online casinos Mahjong is played with tiles that show the original Asian symbols. Players are dealt one tile short of a complete hand. They have to pick up to three tiles and if they make a winning combination then they get paid according to the complexity of the combination. The other Asian game in the Playtech portfolio is Pachinko. It is modeled on a pinball type game that is extremely popular in gaming arcades in Japan. In the Playtech Pachinko games, balls are launched into the machine. Payouts are determined by where the balls come to rest. Some locations multiply the player’s bet and some locations activate an external slot game.

Keno is a gambling game of Asian origin that has been completely westernized in online casinos. It was invented in China to fund the building of the Great Wall and was then played using symbols. It came to America with the Chinese laborers. At online casinos players mark 15 numbers on a ticket and then 20 balls bearing number are drawn. Payouts are determined by the degree of the match. One factor that online keno shares with original version is the high house edge. Despite this, online players wager on keno because it offers the chance of winning huge payouts with small bets.