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The top three online poker rooms in the world have just made their earnings for the 2018 financial year public and the results are mixed.
The best performer among the three was GVC Holdings’ partypoker, which recorded a 42 percent increase in online poker revenue.
On the other hand, 2018 was not a very good year for 888poker as it suffered a 37% year-on-year drop in revenue. It was business as usual for PokerStars which managed to maintain its online poker growth.
Partypoker Having A Great Time
Online poker has generally fared less favourably than other online gambling verticals, but partypoker is still enjoying great success.
Presenting the company’s full-year results, Kenneth Alexander, GVC Holdings CEO, said the online poker room has engaged in a bit of a David-Goliath battle with PokerStars, but the future looks bright for partypoker as the growth trend is continuing this year, with revenues increasing by 38 percent in the first few months.
With partypoker now overtaking 888poker as the world’s second-largest online poker room, it is currently nipping at the heels of the online poker giant PokerStars. Partypoker has been working hard to regain market share in the real money online poker sector, under the management of Tom Waters and UK’s Dusk Till Dawn proprietor Rob Yong.
The team has recently introduced a number of changes to its poker platform, which include giving away up to 50 percent rakeback to loyal players, organizing massive events like the record-breaking $20 Million GTD MILLIONS Online tournament, as well as launching the partypoker LIVE tour.
Partypoker’s online poker revenue is estimated to have exceeded €137 million in 2018, a significant increase from the €98 million generated in 2017. This makes 2018 the highest-earning year for partypoker since 2012 when it generated €175 million.
PokerStars Still Leads the Race
The Stars Group-owned PokerStars is still the frontrunner in the online poker industry, though the poker room only recorded an increase of 1.1 percent in 2018, generating $886.6 million. PokerStars’ Q4 revenue dropped to $211 million, owing to currency fluctuations.
Poker accounts for the biggest chunk (61.6%) of The Stars Group’s annual revenue in 2018 compared to casino and sports betting which also saw an increase in revenue bringing it to $507 million, which was 35.3 percent of the company’s total full-year income.
888poker Suffers Significant Drop in Revenue
The 2018 financial report for 888poker yielded gloomy figures. According to 888 Holdings, online poker revenue dropped by 37 percent compared to the previous year, plummeting to just $49 million from $77.9 million in 2017.
