Weekly Online Poker Traffic Update

Posted by Lasse Hamar 07/02/12

Online poker traffic soared 11% last week in a broad rally. All 10 of the top 10 sites and networks booked solid gains for the week.

The biggest gainer by far was PokerStars, which recorded an astonishing gain of 18%. The site saw higher traffic all week thanks to its 75 billionth hand promotion. The final milestone hand was dealt midday on Saturday, causing the usual tsunami of players trying to snag the massive prize. A peak of 75,887 cash game players was recorded before the bubble burst and players rushed for the exits.

PokerStars was not the only site to have a good week. In all, 20 sites and networks experienced increases of 5% or more.

Meanwhile, many eyes in the online poker world were on the continuing saga of Full Tilt Poker. The site's main backers breathed a sigh of relief as racketeering claims against them were dismissed by a federal court. However, buyer Groupe Bernard Tapie then announced that unpaid debts owed to the site by some big-name pros constituted a major stumbling block in the path to finalizing the takeover. Soon thereafter, Laurent Tapie reportedly claimed that completion of the takeover agreement was imminent, with the site potentially reopening its doors to European players in March.

Top 20 Movers

Svenska Spel pulled ahead of Bodog to take over 15th place.

PartyPoker.fr climbed two spots to 17th, pushing EverestPoker.fr and EverestPoker.com down to 18th and 19th, respectively.
Year Over Year

The total worldwide online poker market remains under pressure from Black Friday and a global stagnation in poker's popularity. According to PokerScout's ACES indicator, online poker traffic (ex-Italy) has decreased by 24% in the last year.

Year-over-year changes for some individual sites and networks are given below. Results are for the main (.com) sites and networks unless stated otherwise.

Top three:

PokerStars 2%

PartyPoker 24%

iPoker Network 12%

Notable gainers:

Merge Gaming Network 99%

888poker 79%

Bodog 49%

Winamax.fr 39%

Notable decliners:

Full Tilt Poker 100%

Cereus Network 99%

Entraction Network 51%

International Poker Network (IPN) 46%

PKR 27%

Ongame Network 21%

Small but interesting:

Chico Poker Network (formerly Action Poker Network) up 280%

Winning Poker Network (formerly Yatahay Network) up 56%