Poker Games - Multi-player mayhem

by : Morgan Collins

Online poker sits above all other online games or multi-player games in terms of revenues and turnover. But where does it fit in a social sense - should it be classed alongside the likes of other browser based games or other casual online games?
The online PC games market topped $1bn in the West in 2004/5 and is expected to pass $2bn in 2007. Growth is currently being driven by an increase in the speed of broadband offerings, allowing the increase in pay-per-play browser gaming, and multi-player online games which have both improved in quality and variation, and are now reaching a wider audience than ever before.
Coupled with the resumption of growth within the online advertising market which broke the 1$ billion barrier in 2006, as well as the successful introduction of new models such as games service subscriptions, the longer term broadband games-on-demand services are expected to make a huge and ever increasing contribution to online sales and internet growth.
Pay-per-play browser gaming, where users pay to enter skill-based games and tournaments to compete for cash and other prizes, is the hottest of the online gaming sub-sectors.
A $35m market only three years ago, pay-per-play gaming reached $137m in 2003 and is forecast to grow at an impressive compound annual growth rate of 40 per cent to 2007 to become the second largest online gaming sub-sector behind multi-player gambling games; producing a multi-million dollar industry.
The multi-player online market continues to grow, defying industry scepticism. Continued expansion will come from existing online games as well as a range of high profile releases expected over the next two years. Europe, which has a relatively untapped multi-player online game market, will become the largest growth opportunity as the North American market approaches saturation, and has also been disabled by the recent introduction of the online gaming act, preventing banks from accepting monies from players accessing multi-player gambling sites. The increasingly busy release schedule will also lead to over-supply issues and the re-appraisal of current models and pricing strategies.
While most online gaming still remains a predominantly male activity, growth within the casual games market and casual gambling games, is being driven by women, and in particular middle-aged unemployed women. What many have termed the 'bored housewife' market! Most single casual online gaming sub-sector is now dominated by female gamers, from pay-per play to casual games subscriptions, with some game operators reporting female to male ratios as high as 70:30.
Some broadband companies are also gaining market revenues through the deployment of streamed games-on-demand services. Lessons are being learnt about how to effectively operate such games-on-demand services and the market should show good growth rates over the next few years, driven by expanding broadband demand.
So where does online poker games fit into all of this?
Well, in terms of revenue it is untouched. For example, of the ?50 billion in UK gambling revenues, the total online gambling revenues in the UK in 2006 were around ?660 million, with an estimated growth for 2007 of around ?1.5 billion. Of those online revenues, in 2006 online poker claimed the fastest growth compared to that of 2005, with around ?1 billion revenues estimated for 2007. Worldwide, poker turnover exceeded ?12 billion in 2006.
Online poker itself is deemed to be a multi-player online game, but it can also be classed as a pay-per-play browser game, as you do pay for each card game you play.
However, should online poker be put in the same brackets alongside other multi-player or browser based games when it comes to the social and psychological effects that come with attached?
This has been a debate that has raged for many years as those in favour of poker deem it to be a game of skill and strategy, not unlike other pc games.
Certainly these types of multi-player games that offer the chance to win money for competing in tournaments are no different to offering a teenager the chance to win a prize for competing against someone during a fantasy game or role playing game. They each entice players to part with their money and both can be seen as skill games.
However, poker has always been classed as a form of gambling. It will remain thus until the problems of gambling addiction and anti-social effects can be understood and tackled.
One thing is for sure; online poker will continue to provide those who operate and form part of its industry with revenues that leave pc games operators drooling.
About the Author
Written by Morgan Collins for IPN Poker.com. Online poker games for UK players, operated by St Minver Ltd and Boss Media software. Please retain resource links.