Has Online Poker Finally Reached its Peak?

It all started with the passing of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. This new law forbid the transfer of funds from a financial institution to an Internet gambling site and since the online world has been largely credited to be the “single biggest factor in addition to the World Poker Tour to the emergence of poker” (quoted from a Lyle Berman interview), many saw the legislation as the start of the end for poker.

In a way, this has been true. From 2006 to 2008, we saw tons of online poker sites close its doors. Even those who were established abroad closed doors after they realized just how big a market they lost by losing US online poker players.

And for those whose virtual doors did not close down, mergers was the way to go. For instance, previous big names such as Crypto Logic and Boss have already announced that they will merge in the start of 2009.

Still, some do seem to grow from strength to strength. For instance, Poker Stars and Full Tilt continue their reign as the biggest poker networks. Titan Poker, primarily a non-US online poker network, is also now considered as the biggest venue in the iPoker network.

So what does this all mean? In my book, it simply means that the legislature has hampered the astronomical growth poker has seen over the past years, but it is here to stay.

It may have its ups and downs but poker will continue to be big. And here’s why.

• Media coverage of poker tournaments is so widespread that the desire to learn the game and be part of tournaments is still very strong.

• Nowadays, professional poker players seem to acquire that rock star or TV star aura and although this may not necessarily be good for the game itself, it does encourage others to be involved in poker. And simply put, more players mean more life for the game.

• Although the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 put a dent on the growth of US players, non-US players, particularly European ones, are growing by leaps and bounds.

• We’re actually past the ‘fad stage’ of poker now and the die-hard players are here to stay. Unlike other games that are “you either love it or hate it”, poker is actually more of a try and see game and now that we’re past the fad stage, suffice it to say that the avid players, the ones whom you can really count on to sit at tables and play all day, are still logging in online and playing for keeps.

Even today, many poker tournaments - online and off - generate tons of player registrations. A testament that poker - at least for the near future - is here to say.