QUIET WEEK FOR ONLINE POKER TRAFFIC

Wednesday,  November 30 ,2011 : Seven of the top ten saw declining traffic last week
 
The independent online poker monitor Pokerscout's latest numbers showcase a relatively quiet week in which overall internet poker traffic climbed a mere 1 percent, with seven of the top websites and networks reporting lower numbers.
 
Pokerstars' intention to hold another record-breaking attempt for most poker players online at one time will probably influence the next set of figures in a positive way, the monitor notes.
 
Pokerstars remained at the top of the leaderboard as expected, with iPoker taking the second spot for the second week in a row, ahead of Party Poker, which declined by 2 percent.
 
GTechG2's International Poker Network took an 8 percent knock despite healthy available jackpots.
 
Bodog Poker continued its rise to prominence, beating Entraction into 11th place and relegating the IGT subsidiary to 12th. On the Italian market, PeoplesNetwork.it trumped International.it to take 13th place, whilst EverestPoker.fr and iPoker.it traded places as the French site moved up a spot to 15th.
 
Total worldwide online poker remains damaged by Black Friday and a global stagnation in the popularity of the game…or the economic difficulties being so widely faced by players. According to PokerScout's ACES indicator, online poker traffic (excluding Italy) has decreased by 28 percent in the last year, with the top "gainers" being 888poker up 74 percent; Merge Gaming Network up 67 percent; and Bodog up 64 percent.
 
Worst hit by the US crisis and other more international factors were:
 
Full Tilt Poker  100 percent
 
Cereus Network  99 percent
 
Entraction Network  43 percent
 
International Poker Network (IPN)  39 percent
 
Ongame Network  21 percent
 
Pokerscout again lists the Action Poker Network under its "small but interesting" section as up an impressive 219 percent.