Two hundred Internet sites are seeing phenomenal growth and command $2 billion worldwide
Steve Makris The Edmonton Journal
Monday, February 07, 2005
EDMONTON - Poker and the Internet are a winning bet. Just ask Patrik Selin, CEO of Sweden-based Ongame, a privately held games related services developer, best known for the popular PokerRoom.com site.
The five-year-old card game site has more than 3.5 million members in more than 120 countries circulating between $10 million and $12 million US every day.
PokerRoom.com is among 200 other similar Internet gaming sites fuelling a $2-billion US worldwide industry, according to U.K. based Numis Securities.
"It is growing at 100 per cent per year and has become popular due to TV coverage and multimillion-pound jackpots with entry available to online players," said Andrew Burnett, Numis director of gaming research.
Burnett said online poker has attracted the likes of Leonardo diCaprio, James Woods and Ben Affleck.
But for most folks, even newcomers to the game, online poker is easy and less intimidating.
"You don't see player's faces and you can make mistakes or take as much time during play with no one staring you down," said Selin. "But the fear of losing or excitement of winning and wondering what the other players are up to is still there." Best of all, it's free, if you just use "play money."
But like all things online, it's difficult to choose reputable sites for first-time players. "Look at how long a site has been online and check the membership numbers," said Selin.
Much of PokerRoom.com's success lies in the speed of game play.
Selin said the site's ability to handle more than 7,000 members playing simultaneously on thousands of tables at any time with fast card draws makes it attractive. It's also one the few sites that works from Apple computers.
"We have 70 staff programmers constantly improving on the game software, which in poker, with limits, has 1,000 times more possibilities than computer chess," he said. And with no limits it's even more challenging."
The site's computer servers are located in Montreal, monitored by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission. Canada was chosen because of its fast Internet routing and because 85 per cent of PokerRoom's users are in North America.
Selin said there are no legal issues playing online in Canada. "Legally they can't stop us because we have placed our servers here," he said.
But Robin Keist, spokesperson for the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission, said online gambling within Alberta, even if the servers were located somewhere else, is illegal. "We will be looking into that," she said, adding it's legal for a real poker game to take place in any home, as long as the owner does not collect a fee off the winnings.
PokerRoom.com is the fifth-largest real money poker site and the second-largest "play" money site.
The site features poker games like Texas hold'em, Omaha tournaments and seven-card stud, Chinese poker as well as blackjack, roulette, let it ride, craps and slots.
Selin said people of all backgrounds and ages, 18 and up, play. "We keep their privacy, but I can tell you that since the hockey labour dispute there has been a significant jump in NHL players playing poker on our site."
Canadians represent almost 10 per cent of the players at the site with 28 per cent from Toronto, 11 per cent from Vancouver, 11 per cent from Edmonton and 11 per cent from Calgary.
Players log on PokerRoom.com and can join for free. Some 90 per cent choose "play money" mode while the rest play with real money -- purchasing up to the $500 weekly limit. There is no limit on how much they can win.
"One player started with a $10 free voucher from us and went on to win $85,000," said Selin. Players can pick from tables with fast or slow Internet connections or level of play.
When in play, the site shows an overhead view of a poker table with occupied seats of real players randomly represented by male and female figures with player's nicknames. "It's funny, we noticed the rather bosomy players tend to win more," said Selin. Players can chat during play, typing messages to each other.
Winnings are sent by cheque in the mail the same week or deposited on teller account.
The site touts top brand-name security hardware and insists it does not pester guests with pesky computer pop-ups or adware programs. The sites make money by taking up to five per cent of the pot.
As in offline gambling, Internet poker rooms bring societal issues and problems like addiction and gambling.
"The industry recognizes that two per cent of the population potentially are problem gamblers and from those, 0.6 per cent are addicted to gambling," said Selin.
"We can't do much for them ... they need professional counselling and will, like alcoholics, have to stay off gambling," said Selin. "But we can help potential problem gamblers, especially if we get an e-mail or a phone call from close friends or relatives," he said. "We have trained staff to talk to them and can set limits on how often they can play."
The site, however, does not flag potential problem gamblers who might be constantly playing their limit with no winnings for long periods.
Cheaters are different, caught more often online than at real poker tables.
"In offline play collusion can take place between cheaters by quick body language that can't be traced back later," said Selin. "But we keep a database of every play and can automatically flag suspected collusion, such as two players with adjoining computer screens who are folding or raising when they really shouldn't -- we don't let them play anymore."
Selin likes to place one or two dollar bets online but admits he prefers the real, offline, $10,000-fee tournaments.
The company is enjoying financial success since its 1999 start, when it started out with play money.
"We had no income then but our plan all along was to introduce real-money poker and since 2001 we have not looked back," said Selin.
"There is an old Swedish saying that 'No tree grows to heaven,' " he said.
"Success may not last forever but if you look at the history, the industry growth was 630 per cent in 2003, last year it was 154 per cent, compared to our own 323 per cent.
"Is this the new ice hockey, the new football or soccer?
"It can be," said Selin.
"When they were airing World Cup ice hockey between Finland and the U.S. semifinal last year, ten times more viewers watched a televised poker game broadcast at the same time."
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