Full Tilt player decline continues
PokerScout traffic update reveals relaunched site has seen player count drop 56% since relaunch.
Online poker traffic fell by 1.3% over the past week, marking the fourth week of decline out of the last five, with Full Tilt Poker (FTP) the biggest loser.
Player numbers on FTP fell by 13% for the week ending 17 December, the fourth consecutive week of decline after it was relaunched on 6 November, according to PokerScout’s weekly online poker traffic update. The site returned to the market following an audacious US$731m acquisition by PokerStars which was approved by the New York Department of Justice in July.
After achieving the second-highest level of online poker traffic just 24 hours after its relaunch, FTP has now seen traffic decline a total of 56% from these initial highs. At the time H2 Gambling Capital’s Joel Keeble admitted there was potential for decline, but predicted that this would not be particularly steep.
“Access to balances have been an initial attraction. It may well be that liquidity levels drop going forward. However, as players know Full Tilt it is now backed by PokerStars, H2 would expect much of this to be retained,” he said.
While PartyPoker also saw player count decline 4% over the past week, PokerScout claims the site is likely to enjoy a boost when bwin joins the former PartyGaming brand’s poker network following the sale of Ongame to Amaya.
While the poker tracking site admits it is too soon to judge the size of the boost accurately, it noted that Ongame’s traffic had fallen by a third over the past week “ a fall which saw it drop out of PokerScout’s top 10 rankings to be replaced by MPN, formerly known as the Microgaming Poker Network.
Despite a significant initial boost from the return of Full Tilt, poker has seen a continuing decline overall, with player counts down 8% over the past year. Market-leader PokerStars has seen player numbers fall 14%, while Playtech’s third-placed iPoker Network, which this year ring-fenced liquidity for its top-performing skins, saw a 28% decline over the same period.