EGR 2010 Why are Pokerstars and Full Tilt Poker included?

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POKERSTARS AND FULL TILT

These two companies have caused and still cause great controversy in the industry due to their use of US liquidity revenues to fund their global operations.

However, this year has been different and we are including both in the P50 for a number of reasons:

• In  eGR’s view, the argument is no longer about the legality or 'greyness' of territories in which most operators in our P50 list, that were established in the first dot com wave of egaming, still have legacies. The two leading poker sites merit their place in this year’s P50 for their 'legitimate' operations, but have been docked points, and are therefore lower in the list, because their US operations give them liquidity advantages, and therefore spending power, over the rest of the field. Similarly, all operators with significant revenue streams in as yet unregulated markets such as Germany, Greece, Turkey and China have also been marked down on reach for having these presences, albeit these do not have the same distorting effect on global poker liquidity as the US.

• Most operators in the US pre-UIGEA have settled, recovered and rebuilt their businesses elsewhere.

• Despite no one but 'Stars and Tilt knowing exactly how much of their revenues (in the billions of dollars) are generated from accepting US poker players, we do know this has diminished and diversified due to legitimate licences in regulated markets in Europe. Both are now licensed and regulated in France. Simon Holliday, director of data specialists H2 Gambling Capital, however has told eGR that from his figures 'Stars and Tilt’s US revenues only count for approximately 30% and 40% of their respective toplines.

• 'Stars has installed its first ever CEO, a sign it wants legitimate acceptance from the industry and players.

• In September this year, 'Stars pulled out of the state of Washington following a Supreme Court verdict that upheld its decision to prohibit online gambling – the first withdrawal the world’s biggest poker site has made since the passage of UIGEA in late 2006.