Following in the footsteps of major gaming locales such as Las Vegas, Atlantic City and Macao, a leading online gaming web site has determined that online gaming rooms, once thought to be ‘recession proof,’ are actually showing a decline in action as well.
It is a common theory that, in times of recession, people will flock to certain vices, such as lotteries, casinos and other devices. People in a booming economy would use their discretionary income on travel to major gaming locations and spend more in gambling, hotels, food and drink. With a recession looming on the horizon according to financial experts, players now have the ability to save money by staying home and partaking of the action online. Even though the players may be turning to the online action, the worldwide economic downturn is now having an effect on the money entering into these online rooms as well.
Online Casino Advisory’s senior gaming analyst Sherman Bradley conducted a month long study that looked at activity in the online casino world, which did not include online poker rooms. In this study Bradley stated that, prior to the near-collapse of the world economic markets, players would deposit on average between $100 to $200 every two weeks. That has fallen off after the problems of the stock markets of every major country to an average of $25 to $50.
“This tells me a couple of things,” Bradley stated, “that online casinos are not these evil, addiction wielding devices that destroy lives. To me, this is proof that people only spend what they can afford on this form of entertainment and that they can certainly control themselves on the internet. It also tells me that gambling in any form is not recession proof.”
Some have suggested that the recently passed Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA) and its guidelines for implementation in December 2009 has had an effect on gaming. Another possibility posed by many is the withdrawal of online casinos and networks, such as Microgaming, from particular segments of the marketplace. Bradley dismissed these ideas, saying, “The online casinos that remain in the U. S. market are actually seeing major player increases since Microgaming left. However, players are not depositing higher amounts and they are not depositing multiple times, as was the norm before the recession. In addition, Microgaming casinos that still allow their U. S. players who were already patrons with them to play are also seeing the same trend.”
“Players are still playing,” Bradley said, “but they are not playing or depositing nearly as much as they once were.”
It is possible to see the same decline in both the online and live poker worlds. According to Alexa.com, which tracks the traffic of web sites across the internet, such U. S. facing online poker powerhouses as PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker (before their merger into CEREUS) were down in some cases approximately 50% in their site visitation. Even Party Poker, which doesn’t accept action from the United States, saw a significant drop in the month of October when the worldwide financial crisis first raised its head.
The live poker world seems to be suffering alongside its online brethren. Overall tournament participation has not shown the sizeable increases that have been seen in the past several years and the major players on the tournament circuit have been affected. Tournaments on the current season of the World Poker Tour have seen a decline in players, in some cases as much as 30%. Even the summer’s World Series of Poker wasn’t immune to the economic situation; while Harrah’s and the WSOP had a record year in the total prize pool that was given to players, it could have been artificially increased through the replacement of lower buy in events with the eight $10,000 world championships that were a part of the schedule.
Casinos and poker, both live and online, offer entertainment for many around the world. In turbulent times, however, it is obvious that players tighten their belts and prepare to ride out the economic storms that are occurring.
What evidence does PokerScout show?
Using alexa to judge traffic is not accurate or representative of traffic for a site.
I’m always cautious around ‘analysts’ who toss unsourced and perhaps unrepresentative numbers around, especially in a market that is as competitive as online gambling, where many, if not most, operators play their business cards close to their chests.
Statements like “The online casinos that remain in the U. S. market are actually seeing major player increases since Microgaming left.” should be carefully considered imo.
The industry needs accurate information, not mere opinions. It may well be impacted by recessionary trends, but this needs to be assessed on a factual basis.
I think the online poker numbers from the mandatory reportage of major listed companies may be one – I repeat one – indicator, and that has recently shown a disappointingly flat growth in poker at some groups. Is that due to the recessionary element or a competitive and over-supplied market or some other cause – that’s the question.
Online gaming has many effects though, but whether it is good or bad we must see to it that we won’t be dragging ourselves in our own donwfall.