Friday, Dec. 22, 2006

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Poker room numbers are up in spite of U.S. ban

By Erin Warner

Despite the U.S. anti-online gambling legislation, many Internet poker rooms have enjoyed an increase in traffic over the past few months, suggests data from Alexa.com.

A report from Web data company showed growth investors to the gambling sites during a three-month period from Sept. 20 to Dec. 20.

As some sites pulled out of the market following the U.S. government's passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act on Oct. 13, others profited from the players that were left behind.

PokerStars.com, for example, witnessed a three-month increase of 2,037 visitors to its site.

Other poker rooms have also picked up players, with Bodog.com seeing a 2,413-person swell on its site and VIP Poker making room for 1,740 new customers.

But some sites that pulled out of the U.S. market following the legislation experienced a downturn in player numbers over the past three months. Bet365poker saw a drop of about 1,015, while Paradise Poker was harder hit, losing 6,935 visitors.

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