ONLINE POKER HOLIDAY SEASON DROP OFF

12/28/2011 : American players remain offline after Federal action
 
Reports on the predictable holiday season slow-down as the top 10 online poker sites saw a traffic decline on average of 4 percent over the period.
 
Online poker year-over-year (excluding Italy) has decreased by 31 percent due to U.S. federal action and a general malaise in the popularity of the game.
 
Notable declines saw PokerStars fall 4.3 percent, not unusual considering the end of its 10th anniversary promotions, while Bodog although still down after the introduction of anonymous tables, gained 2 percent
 
Year Over Year Rankings (main .com sites) saw 888poker up 79 percent, Merge Gaming Network up 75 percent and Bodog up 51 percent with notable declines from the obvious Full Tilt Poker down 100 percent and Cereus Network down 99 percent.  Other declines saw Entraction Network – 55 percent and International Poker Network (IPN) – 45 percent.
 
Showing strong gains, albeit off a smaller base, Action Poker Network up by 183 percent and Yatahay Network up by 77 percent.