Online Poker Participation Dropping

Online poker participation is dropping of late. According to the latest statistical data of PokerScout, traffic results for the global online poker market revealed rather alarming industry figures: the size of the market is shrinking by 13% on an annual basis, with several sites reporting record drops in player volume.

Disproportional Drop in Activity

While a standard drop in traffic is typical to the summer season, the reduction figures this time out are disproportional to the usual activity fluctuations in this time of year. Further, an expected post-World Cup rebound for all intents and purposes failed to materialize.

Widespread User Reduction

This activity was reflected in the fact that 9 out of the top top online gambling 10 experienced a drop in traffic last week. The most dramatic dip was experienced by online gaming juggernaut PokerStars, whose traffic fell to its lowest levels since Christmas Day, 2008, keeping in mind that people seldom gamble during the Christmas holiday as a rule.

European Deterrents

In Europe, deterrents to online gambling have manifested in the form of restrictive taxes placed by individual countries on domestic online operators--particularly in France, Spain and Italy--as well as widespread blocks on gambling sites in Europe that encroach across national borders.

Stagnation Leads to Decay

The impediments to online gambling in Europe have led Poker Scout to conclude that such developments as the steady decline in online poker accounts since 2011, the year that France began regulating and “ring-fencing” online poker, have stagnated online poker to the extent that it is now in a state of “rapid decline” in Europe.

US Update

Meanwhile, in the US, the three states with online gambling are having different results. Predictably, Nevada is thriving, the latest boost coming from the 45th Annual World Series Of Poker, good for a 20% boost in online poker revenues in Nevada. However, economically challenged New Jersey experienced a significant drop in revenues of nearly 10% to $2.05 million; hot and cold Delaware's latest month was cold: a free-fall of 55% to just $25,607 in online gambling revenues for June.

Can Supply Meet Demand?

Plenty of people are still playing online poker, and there is no shortage of operators looking to meet that demand, but over regulation in major markets such as Europe and the US threatens to cut off access to significant portions of the online gambling sector.