Is Online Poker a Good Complimentary During Covid-19 Lockdowns?

Leading up to 2020, online poker has often held a secondary role especially when compared to playing poker in person.

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This is evidenced by the fact that traditional poker gets a lot more news coverage from the press than online poker. But with the coronavirus outbreak and its resulting lockdowns impacting the live casino [3] and gaming community strongly, online poker games are seeing a massive surge.

How Has Covid-19 Impacted Online Poker?

After the lockdown restrictions were placed in March and April of 2020 [4] around the globe, people started migrated towards online gambling. The industry is expecting to grow further if the situation persists. With organizations like Pokerstars hosting lucrative online tournaments, including the Winter Series of Online Poker (WCOOP), as is more widely called, more people than ever before are now participating. Furthermore, due to the absence of live tournaments, networks have recently been willing to cover online poker activities in greater depth.

And it's not just poker that sees an online spike, gambling sites featuring alternatives to traditional casino games like slots, are seeing immense growth overall with no registration casinos continuing to be enormously successful.

What are the Reasons behind the Surge in Online Poker Popularity?

One of the biggest reasons for the rise in online gaming of late is that people have more free time. With additional days off owing to furlough and job limits, individuals have more leisure time left during the day in general. This indicates that a number of casual players or first time participants have had an opportunity to play.

The coronavirus pandemic and its resulting lockdowns have limited social interactions, which can make anyone feel lonely. Online poker has a variety of integrated social networking tools so it's a nice feature for many users to socialize with peers and competitors.

A number of competitive players who will normally concentrate on very high stakes live games [5] have found their way back to the virtual world. As these players already have large numbers of followers and fans, it has led a large number of people to consider online poker as a legitimate choice for professional tournaments.

Unlike with traditional poker or gambling, in online poker you can actually invest only a minimal amount of money by entering low level tournaments and earn tickets into larger competitions with bigger payouts. This is an enticing offer for many people as it gives them a real sense of progression, alongside the possibility of winning big with little investment.

Will Online Poker Be Successful in the long term?

It's impossible to predict if online poker can proceed to see this exponential development until sports gambling and casino gaming returns to their usual operating style. Supporters also make wagers while watching their favorite sports to endorse clubs they enjoy to make attending matches more fun, so it is expected that this segment of the market will go back to business as usual when everything eventually opens up.

There is also the fact that individuals would inevitably have limited spare time to dedicate as the general public makes its way to normal work activities. Pair this with a number of professional players switching back to live games, and the online poker bubble could be about to burst this time next year.

What can Online Poker Platforms Do to Retain their Audience?

Online poker platforms are clever administrators, however and whether they can keep coming up with ample rewards to maintain the interest and engagement of their current fans, there is a tremendous opportunity for the development of online gambling.

Promotions can include membership bonuses, a chance to win free spins, bonuses for depositing, and free entry to large and medium competitive games.

What are the Concerns of External Stakeholders?

Like all kinds of online poker, Poker can be a great deal of fun, but they can also be dangerous. Parts of the world, like the United States and the United Kingdom, have become increasingly concerned about citizens gambling with funds that they cannot manage to lose during the coronavirus pandemic. As a consequence, some countries such as the United Kingdom have set stringent rules and limits on all types of television and radio advertisements related to gambling.

Final Word

Online poker can be a way to burn off some steam in the current stressful climate, but it’s also important to remember that you have to be responsible with your funds. Good luck!