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HEADLINE: UK Online Poker Market Starts to Decline Says Report

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Market research firm Mintel has published a report claiming online poker in the UK will decline by seven percent in 2009 with gross gaming yield falling to £247 million from £265 million in 2008.

Last year the market stagnated the company said.

The report says the online poker market in the UK grew 74 percent between 2004 and 2007 but that almost one-third of players have changed their playing habits as a direct response to the recession with average spend down almost 20 percent from £345 in 2007 to £281 in 2009.

The research also found that:

•Approximately half of players play once a week or more
•Approximately one-third of players play online poker once a week or more
•Approximately one-third of online players play more than one table at a time
•Live poker has suffered more with player boredom playing a key role
Matt King, senior leisure analyst at Mintel said, “Poker revenues have clearly peaked. The recession is the most obvious culprit, with around a third of poker players now playing less often or for lower stakes because of the economic downturn.

“However, there may be other inherent problems that the industry has to address. Rakeback promotions, for one thing, are minimising margins and this shows the emphasis is on customer numbers, not the profit generated per customer. Lack of time is another factor impacting on play, possibly suggesting work pressures in the current recession are having a toll on players’ free time."

The research carried out by Mintel seems to chime with the falling revenues of some of Europe’s largest poker operators.

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