A Possible Second Boom in Online Poker in 2020

With all the COVID situation and lockdown policies, online poker received a notable boom at the start of the year, around February, with most operators reporting a big increase in traffic. Throughout the year, traffic has gone back to normal but is already rapidly increasing once again. Could it be related to the so-called "second wave" and new lockdowns in Europe?

A Possible Second Boom in Online Poker in 2020

Lockdowns are definetly not fun. While at home, with less options to find entertainment and the accumulated stress for some in not being able to go out and seeing friends and loved ones, it is natural that people turn to the Internet to find replacement for those missed fun and connections. And so, as expected, online poker and gambling have seen a massive growth at the first quarter of the year, with a new wave in popularity that most operators have been riding as most as possible with online tournaments and iterations of events that are normally live. And with that, most of the biggest operators are growing in traffic and revenue, although not all at the same rate: while some household names grew such as PokerStars grew a few digits, GGPoker grew probably much more than anyone by more than doubling its numbers.

As things started to calm down, signs of a second big boom in popularity are beginning to show once again. Europe is facing a "second wave" of lockdowns once again, notably France, Spain and Portugal. UK and German regulations are making it legal to play, on one hand hurting the market with restrictions but in the other making it more popular and bringing in more players with the legalization. In the US, states such as Pennsylvania and Michigan are weakening their restrictions and the election of Joe Biden that overall seems more favorable to online gambling industry are making many in the market optimistic about it, which is already starting to reflect positively in numbers in the States as well.

What could this bring to all of us? Well, in terms of online poker, the US players are slowly gaining more freedom and options to play. Players world-wide benefit from an overall peak in cash games traffic, bring in a much appreciated breath of fresh air to the poker rooms, as well as events and prizes among the largest in the history of the industry. And we will keep you informed by bringing you the latest news about legal changes, tournaments, promotions and more.