Weekly Online Poker Traffic Update

Posted by Lasse Hamar 14/02/12

Online poker traffic returned to earth last week after soaring 11% the previous week. The 4% loss came mainly from the very top of the charts, with only three of the top 10 sites and networks losing traffic.

PokerStars was the week's biggest loser, dropping 11% following an 18% gain. The site's 75 billionth hand promotion was responsible for both the rise and the subsequent fall.

PartyPoker also lost ground, falling 3% after a 10% gain the week before. Party still has a firm grasp on second place, maintaining a comfortable 14% margin over rival iPoker Network.

Everleaf Gaming Network announced that It was exiting the US market effective February 9. It appears that Everleaf may not have been as dependent on US players as many had supposed. In the days since the pullout, the network's traffic is down just 12%.

WSEX also closed their independent poker room, though in this case the cause may be been a simple failure to thrive. The site, which in 2006 boasted an average of more than 300 cash game players, had lately been averaging just 10.

Last week was an extraordinarily busy one for online poker news. Literally dozens of headlines featured Full Tilt Poker, Microgaming, US legislation and more. Visit our news page to catch up on the latest.

Top 20 Movers

PokerStars.fr overtook Merge Gaming Network, moving up into eighth place.

IGT Poker (formerly Entraction) also advanced one spot, taking over 13th from iPoker.it.

EverestPoker.fr climbed from 18th to 15th.

Everest Poker rose from 19th to 18th.

Svenska Spel plummeted from 15th to 19th.
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 27% 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 11%

PartyPoker 22%

iPoker Network 13%

Notable gainers:

Merge Gaming Network 100%

888poker 76%

Bodog 59%

Winamax.fr 48%

Notable decliners:

Full Tilt Poker 100%

Cereus Network 99%

International Poker Network (IPN) 45%

PKR 26%

Ongame Network 22%

Small but interesting:

Chico Poker Network (formerly Action Poker Network) up 302%