October bad for online gambling visits

[jetset]

LATEST NEILSEN STATS CONFIRM OCTOBER DECLINE IN US ONLINE GAMBLING VISITS

Average 56 percent decrease in October


After months of steady, double digit growth, U.S. online gambling visits showed a marked decline in October, according to Internet usage specialists Nielsen//NetRatings on the release of the companys latest monthly statistical report.

Web traffic to 10 popular online gambling destinations decreased by an average 56 percent in the month of October, the same month President Bush signed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act into law. This drop follows a year of fairly consistent unique audience growth among online gambling destinations, demonstrating the profound impact of the law signed on October 13th. However, some gambling Web sites have yet to feel the pinch of this new legislation, and many industry analysts speculate that there are ways to circumvent these restrictions and continue to do good business.

The Neilsen report confirms an earlier Metrix report (see previous InfoPowa bulletin) which found a general 27 percent decline in traffic to online gambling sites.

Neilsen NetRatings reported on its analysis of the following sites:


Table 1: Web Traffic Trend to Popular Online Gambling Destinations (U.S.,
Home and Work)

Site Oct-05 Sep-06 Oct-06 10/05-10/06 09/06-10/06
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PartyPoker.com 2,412 7,476 2,503 4% -67%
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PokerStars.com 1,137 1,653 1,349 19% -18%
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Sportsbook.com 645 1,485 1,191 85% -20%
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Bodog.com 500* 649 678* 36% 4%
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FullTiltPoker.com 302* 439 623 106% 42%
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Absolute Poker N/A 510 520 N/A 2%
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Ultimatebet.com 418* 536 511 22% -5%
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Casino On Net 782 1,610 454* -42% -72%
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Partypoker.net N/A 435 269* N/A -38%
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Betus.com N/A 719 N/A N/A N/A
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Unduplicated UA 4,356 11,836 5,185 19% -56%
of 10

[Simmo!]

LOL. What do Neilson expect? That's like saying "US casualties have dropped significantly since they pulled out of Iraq"

All bar one (two maybe) of the sites they quote above stopped taking US punters so there is nothing there for them to see! It would be more relevant if they'd taken a subset of sites that still accepted US traffic.

I'll bet you anything those have RISEN to make up a large portion of the shortfall on the ones above. Talk about skewed analysis


PS. That wasn't a dig at you jetset

[jetset]

Neverthless, I disagree with your view Simmo. This sort of factually based and continuous monitoring of formerly major entities in the US market is important reading for those who wish to assess the ongoing impact of the UIGEA and how this changes going forward.

[Simmo!]

Neverthless, I disagree with your view Simmo. This sort of factually based and continuous monitoring of formerly major entities in the US market is important reading for those who wish to assess the ongoing impact of the UIGEA and how this changes going forward.

I don't dispute that Jetset. But analysis like this only shows one side of the coin. If it is to be presented as a statement that the UIGEA is working the way the Government intended, then it may not necessarily be accurate. If it is simply to show the effect on the Public sector, then yes, it clearly is accurate.

[jetset]

You are not reading the stats properly if that is your view. There is a mix in the sample of public and private companies, together with those that have abandoned the US player and those that have not.

Have you noted these facts and the impact they have on producing a balance for an experienced company like Neilsen/NetRatings in this field?

[Casinomeister]

I've set up a poll for the US members to see what effect this has had on them:

http://www.casinomeister.com/forums/...ement-act.html

Interesting stuff on traffic. I've been watching mine closely (as always) and it's pretty much unchanged. The players will always be there

[Simmo!]

You are not reading the stats properly if that is your view. There is a mix in the sample of public and private companies, together with those that have abandoned the US player and those that have not.

Have you noted these facts and the impact they have on producing a balance for an experienced company like Neilsen/NetRatings in this field?

Most of those have abandoned the US though I think haven't they? Bodog and FullTilt bing the exceptions.

[Westland Bowl]

Most of those have abandoned the US though I think haven't they? Bodog and FullTilt bing the exceptions.

While I may have played at Bodog otherwise, Tailgun's recent experiences with Bodog has kept me away from them. Tailgun reported a couple of weeks ago of experiencing 70% player losing hands at blackjack at Bodog over a course of about 1000 hands. That is way beyond normal for too many hands for me to be comfortable to play there. I haven't tried Inetbet yet but I've heard of similar results.

Overall, I have cut back on my play because outside of Microgaming there doesn't seem to be that many online casinos to play at without seeing online casinos doing their own "advantage play" in taking advantage of US players and their (US players) tied hands.

[jetset]

Most of those have abandoned the US though I think haven't they? Bodog and FullTilt bing the exceptions.

Full Tilt, Absolute, Ultimate, Pokerstars, Bodog, Sportsbook all remain active in the USA. Party, 888.com have withdrawn.

[Casinomeister]

I wonder if the results of this survey are from webmasters not promoting some of these brands. Maybe the Professor can fill us in if this is the case.