Online Poker: Bodog Fights Off Betfair
With Betfair's cherished sponsorship of the World Series of Poker Europe heading into its third year, the otherwise powerhouse company has had a tough time translating this affiliation into a successful "real cash" online poker room.
In monitoring PokerSiteScout.com we quickly discover that Betfair is not even remotely competitive with its rivals in the sports betting sector, Ladbrokes (part of the Microgaming Online Poker platform) and Paddy Power (which operates on the iPoker network). Instead, Betfair is reduced to have to fight with the once strong brand name of Bodog Poker for the number 15 spot.
Last week, Bodog Poker averaged a mere 740 while Betfair fared far worse with 530.
There's been some talk that Betfair will try to access the US market, but will that help on the online poker side? Keep in mind that Bodog has long been available to US players and they continue to lose market share, albeit they've stabilized somewhat in the number 15 spot.
The worldwide online poker market continues to grow on an annual basis despite the global economic slowdown and the efforts of the US government to shut down payment options, according to PokerSiteScout. Online poker is growing at an annual rate of more than 20 percent, in fact. Betfair, however, has not enjoyed much of a role in this growth despite the WSOPE connection. "It's either poor marketing the rest of the year or the network is not very user friendly," suggests Payton O'Brien, who acts as Marketing Director of the Gambling911.com website in addition to her role as Senior Editor. "I think it could be a combination of both. This is one company that should be light years ahead of the competition on the Internet poker front."
If there is any good news to be had it's that Betfair doesn't appear to be losing market share at least. Bodog on the other hand: They lost 19 percent of market share over the last 12 months.
Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
