[D ATA ]
KEY STATISTICS
This month, in addition to our usual internet poker roundup, H2 revisits the Spanish market where onshore-regulated activity has just commenced but taxes on player winnings threaten the attractiveness of egaming for the nation’s players
AVERAGE REAL MONEY PLAYER NUMBERS
Ring games & tournaments
127,600
105,400
105,400
H 2 P O K E R D ATA M AY
Ongoing increases in platform numbers reducing the game’s attractiveness
Internet poker average real money player volumes were sequentially behind by 8.8% in May (though total activity was down month-over-month by just over 5% once May’s additional day was taken into account). Last year, following Black Friday on 13 April, volumes fell sequentially by 11.0%. Therefore, for a better benchmark we once again look to 2009 and 2010 when there were falls in average real money player volumes of 7.4% and 3.7% respectively. In addition to tracking round-theclock activity on a dozen of the leading internet poker sites, with the launch of the Spanish onshore regulated internet poker sites H2 now takes headline activity numbers from nearly 40 additional sites. With the ongoing dilution of activity across an increasing number of sites, H2 is of the opinion that it is becoming more difficult for the vast majority of platforms to retain the level of attractiveness of games and level/frequencies of prizes for players. H2 urges European regulators to consider the potential to pool liquidity between ring-fenced onshore regulated markets in the near future. Going forward, based on the 16.4% (World Soccer Cup year) and 6.8% sequential falls in average real money activity in June 2010 and 2011, despite the new Spanish networks, H2 would expect a 7-8% fall in average activity (average real money players 96,000 to approximately 89,000) in June with the Euro 2012 competition being a APRIL 12 APRIL 11 APRIL 10
contributing factor. This would suggest a 6.8-7.7% fall in total activity as a result of there being one less day. As of the end of May 2012, H2’s Internet Poker Volume Index (H2VI) stood at 3,559 – 14% behind the level at the end of April. This equates to 3% behind the level a year earlier and nearly 39% less than the peak of 5,825 on 3 March 2010. In the light of the platforms across which internet poker activity takes place having increased, H2 would anticipate the level of the index is now set to remain below the 4,000 mark until the annual seasonal increase in player numbers, which occurs during the early part of Q4.
Potential of the onshore Spanish egaming market still in the balance
Early June saw the progressive launch of a number of onshore-regulated internet poker platforms. At the time of writing, seven platforms were open for business with PokerStars accounting for as much a