Best of PRO This Week: The Problem With Segregated Online Poker Markets, French Cash Games and WSOP NV Traffic Best of PRO This Week: The Problem With Segregated Online Poker Markets, French Cash Games and WSOP NV Traffic

Regular Weekly Columns

Traffic Watch

Pokerfuse PRO’s exclusive review of the online poker market across international, US and regulated European markets.


The Deal

Promotional highlights of the week, including Ultimate Poker, PokerStars, Full Tilt, partypoker, Bet365 and iPoker France.


Regulation in Review: Europe and Beyond

A weekly review of the latest developments in gaming regulation outside the US. This week: Malta, Spain, UK, France, Italy, and Sweden.


Checking Around

In our industry-focused picks from the discussion forums this week: Promotional anger, Bodog downtime, GPM feedback, public spats and more.

Exclusive News Articles

PokerStars Begins “Football Fever” Promotion Alongside 2014 World Cup

$1.7 million in total prizes including $500k in freeroll funds to be awarded. PokerStars announced its own spin of a “World Cup Promotion” Thursday with its “Football Fever” giveaway. There will be $1.7 million total prize pool money up for grabs from now through July 16, including $500,000 in freeroll bonus money.


Adjarabet Heads South for the Summer

Traffic is down 32% from its peak and Adjarabet has lost its spot in the global top 10. Unfortunately, Adjarabet’s journey South is not to the World Cup Finals in Brazil, but the direction of its cash game traffic.


Betfair’s Sustainable Market Strategy Produces Lower Poker Revenues

Pre-tax profits rose 61%, but gaming revenues are down 13%. Betfair’s results for its financial year which ended in April show a 13% drop in gaming revenue, from £75.9m to £66.2m.


Norway’s Culture Ministry Proposes a National Tournament, Legal Home Games

New regulations propose a maximum KR2m ($335k) top prize for the national event and a cap of KR500 ($83) for the home games. Norway may soon have a national live poker tournament as the government launches a consultation on possible regulatory changes.


The One Graph that Highlights the Problem With Segregated Online Poker Markets

France and Italy have a clear message for the nascant US markets. If there is one graph that shows the difficulty facing the US states aiming to operate thriving online poker rooms, it is this one.


Full Tilt Hands Out $500K in Summer Freerolls

MTT, Sit and Go and cash game tickets are awarded according to whether the freeroll format is turbo, super turbo or flipout. Over the first half of the Summer, Full Tilt is giving away $500k worth of tournament tickets in daily freerolls.


Seals With Clubs: After the Frenzy

The price of Bitcoin has almost halved in six months—SwC traffic has returned to an elevated, but more stable trajectory. Bitcoin-only site Seals With Clubs (SwC) has a dramatic last year, as the virtual currency shot up to a price of over $1100—and then dropped dramatically down to sub-$500 prices.


Ultimate Gaming Names Todd Kobrin as New CMO

Former 888.com executive to take marketing reins for Ultimate Gaming. Ultimate Gaming announced Monday that it has named Todd Kobrin as its new Chief Marketing Officer.


Full Tilt Raises its Intellectual Game at Oxford University

The annual match between the Oxford and Cambridge University poker clubs promoted the game as much as the brand. Full Tilt has sponsored an annual match between Oxford and Cambridge Universities.


French Cash Games Reach New Low

Traffic is down a quarter since its March high—and may have the same to fall again before the Summer low. Cash game traffic in the regulated French market has dropped to its lowest point since the start of regulation in 2010.


Multi-Phase Tournaments, Lottery Sit & Gos Authorized in Italy

Twister and Expresso sit and gos and multi-day tournaments will soon be available in the regulated Italian market. New tournament guidelines from AAMS should shortly see the introduction of multi-phase tournaments and so-called Lottery Sit and Gos in the regulated Italian market.


Unibet Sponsorship of the Stockholm Marathon May Result in the Organizers’ Prosecution

After a failure last October, the Swedish regulator now threatens to prosecute the organizers of a sporting event for accepting gambling advertising. The organizers of the Stockholm Marathon may face legal action for accepting sponsorship from Unibet.


WSOP Nevada Overtakes WSOP New Jersey

The impact of players visiting for the WSOP has driven WSOP.com Nevada traffic 47% higher. WSOP Nevada’s cash game traffic has not just caught up with WSOP New Jersey—it has surged past it.


Cash Game Online Poker Revenues the Black Mark in Spanish Market Q1 Report

Poker revenues drop over 6% while revenues from other gambling activities rise. The first quarter report from Spanish regulator DGOJ shows that revenues from regulated poker decreased by 4.9% compared to the same period last year.