Online Poker Traffic Update

The online poker industry has experienced twelve consecutive weeks of declining player traffic on cash game tables worldwide.

While this time of year typically sees less traffic due to warmer weather, PokerScout noted that the popularity of lottery-style jackpot SitNGos is also to blame for the decrease in players on ring game tables. The big daddy of the hyper-turbo SitNGos, PokerStars' Spin & Go, has changed the face of online poker to a certain degree. Whether that change is good or bad for poker can certainly be debated.

Since mid-June, PokerStars lost 50 cash game players. Its seven-day average of 15,000 is still more than the 2nd through 18th-ranked poker rooms and networks combined.

Behind PokerStars is 888poker, a site that has yet to join the lottery SitNGo craze. Perhaps that's one of the reasons why 888poker remained stable in cash game player traffic at 2,000, neither gaining nor losing.

Go Bodog Go

Third-ranked Bodog/Bovada also bucked the industry's downward trend, gaining an average of 100 cash players since our last report three weeks ago. Players within the U.S. want to play online poker and they are doing so at Bovada, where traffic beats the other U.S.-friendly non-regulated sites by a wide margin.

The iPoker Network remained in 4th place worldwide despite dropping 100 players to 1,350. PokerStars.it lost half that amount since June 15, but was able to take over sole possession of 5th place with an average of 1,100 players.

Winamax.fr bolted from 8th to 6th place over the last three weeks by gaining 100 players and now averages 1,050. Ironically enough, Winamax is the poker room that launched jackpot SitNGos, rolling out the innovative quick-paced game in August 2013. Copycats followed, with the variant really taking off when PokerStars' Spin & Go arrived on the scene last fall.

Happy Anniversary

Partypoker and Full Tilt are in a dead heat for 7th place worldwide, each with 1,000 ring game players. That's a decline of 50 players for Full Tilt and 150 for Partypoker.

Full Tilt recently lit a candle on a cake to celebrate the first anniversary of the launch of its version of lottery-style poker, Jackpot Sit & Go. The site's cash game global ranking has certainly taken a hit due to the success of the game, as cards were dealt at more than 12 million Jackpot Sit & Gos in one year's time.

The top ten-ranked poker rooms and networks are completed by PokerStars.es (800) and PokerStars.fr (700). Both lost 50 players since mid-June, but managed to remain ahead of 11th place Adjarabet (600).

U.S. Non-regulated

While Bovada remains the most popular unregulated poker room for American players, the Chico Poker Network has solidified its hold on 2nd place in that category. An increase of 25 players over the last three weeks puts Chico's average at 475.

The Winning Poker Network held steady at 425. WPN is the only U.S.-facing network that offers lottery-style SitNGos.

Taking a huge tumble was the Merge Gaming Network, losing 95 players to fall to 280. That's a drop of 25% and is likely due to the slashing of affiliates on June 1 by top skin Carbon Poker.

The Equity Poker Network saw a 10-player increase to 140, while the Revolution Network remained level at 85. Both have seen better days in the past in terms of popularity.

U.S. Regulated

As was the case last year, player traffic at WSOP.com in Nevada trends upward during the WSOP - and particularly during the Main Event. The festival's final event is underway and cash game action at the Multi State Poker Network with Delaware has gone from 200 to 220. You can expect a drop of 50 or so players once this year's November Nine emerge.

The online poker tables in New Jersey find the WSOP.com and 888poker tandem with an increase of 10 players from 170 to 180. The Partypoker and Borgata pairing held firm since the middle of last month with 110. We may see a decrease in action at both when new numbers are released due to a DDOS attack over the weekend that has likely not yet been reflected in player traffic totals.