Nevada Online Poker Traffic Dropped 25 Percent in November According to Early Report
In an early report regarding traffic to the new websites in Nevada which are offering legal online poker gambling for real money, traffic appears to be down 25% for the month of November. Still only a few months old, the Nevada and Vegas online poker industry is definitely in its infancy. Also, regulators pointed to the holiday shopping season and long four day Thanksgiving weekend as possible deciding factors which led to the substantial drop in traffic to both WSOP and Ultimate Poker websites which offer legal Internet poker in that state. However, these numbers do not reflect online poker legally offered by legitimate offshore poker rooms which support Nevada and other US poker players.
And to back up the assumption that the late-month holiday shopping season has curtailed poker play in Nevada, the month actually showed a pretty good start at the tables. The maximum peak number of players enjoying Texas Hold ‘Em, Omaha and other poker games was registered on November 7. And unlike Delaware and New Jersey, there are no Internet casino options for Nevada poker players offered by the new legislation which legalizes Internet poker in that state. A poker player suffering a bad beat or having a bad run online will sometimes turn to virtual casino gambling options, and play a little no-brain slots or roulette, then return to the poker tables. This is not currently an option with the online gambling picture in Nevada.
But registering an all-time high for the number of peak players is certainly not a bad thing, even if traffic did slow down after that historic achievement. Both the Ultimate Poker website and the WSOP.com poker room have been battling each other for active players at cash game tables. The UP site was the first to offer legalized Internet poker in Nevada, with the WSOP poker room swinging wide its virtual doors in September. The WSOP site immediately offered a wider selection of games, table stakes levels and tournaments, backed by the globally recognizable and respected World Series of Poker brand.
During those first days of WSOP poker play in Nevada, the WSOP website surged ahead of UP in traffic, with UP responding by launching Omaha poker cash tables recently. WSOP fired back by offering a generous loyalty program, which rewarded UP players that left that site and instead turned to the World Series of Poker offering, with the ability to transfer VIP status. The marketing melee helped cause the traffic peak on November 7, which resulted in a high average of more than 260 active players at any one time at cash tables.
Online poker in Nevada is currently offered only through the two state regulated websites run by the popular and well-known poker brands WSOP and Ultimate Poker. Legislation was passed allowing legal online poker play for Nevada residents and visitors wishing to wager real money in 2012. The launch of actual virtual poker in Nevada came earlier this year, as the Silver State won the US online gold medal as the first to offer real money gambling since the Department of Justice gave individual states the option to legalize and regulate Internet casino and poker gambling at the state level. Check back for continued updates on the Nevada online poker industry.
If you would like to learn more about the additional online poker options for USA players, including those from Nevada, then you may be interested in our Las Vegas online poker reviews.