ONLINE POKER TRAFFIC DECLINE CONTINUES

Tuesday May 22, 2012 : ONLINE POKER TRAFFIC DECLINE CONTINUES
 
New markets and US legalization could restore growth, but when?
 
The latest weekly assessment of the online poker global market released by independent monitor Pokerscout shows a 3.4 percent decline in traffic over the week, but a more worrying year-on-year continued slide of around 19 percent across the board.
 
"The market as a whole continues to show signs of contraction," Pokerscout observes. "Last week's traffic came in 19 percent below the same week a year ago, with some of that decrease attributable to the collapse of Full Tilt Poker. With Full Tilt factored out, the industry is estimated to be shrinking by 10 percent annually.
 
"There are bright spots on the horizon, however. Spain will open its regulated online poker market in less than two weeks, and Nevada may allow real-money games by the end of this year."
 
Pokerscout points out that whilst its population may not be large, relatively speaking, Nevada legalization is important because it will set the pace and tone for other US states.
 
When will the opening of new markets offset the loss of players and push online poker back into a growth mode?
 
Pokerscout says there is no way to predict with any certainty, but with the slow pace of regulation, that day could easily be two to five years away.
 
Read the full report at http://www.pokerscout.com/news/weekly-traffic-update.aspx?year=2012&week=21