The game of poker has seen an increase in popularity over the last 20 years. With the advent of online poker the increase has been dramatic. Online poker is played over the internet. It is responsible for the popularity of the game across the globe.
The first online poker room Planet Poker was established in 1998. The initial rake structure was 5 percent up to a $3 max rate. They were the first online card room. That type of service was suspended in March 2007, when the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act came into being. This act prohibited the real money games.
A year after Planet Poker introduced this new phenomenon, Paradise Poker came on the scene. This online poker room soon became the leader in the industry. The first online poker room to offer tournaments was established in May 2000. Founded by successful poker player Dutch Boyd Poker Spot had a short lifespan because it was plagued by many problems. Poker Spot was unable to pay their winners because it was unable to collect player deposits from its credit card processing firm.
To protect players from any similar occurrences e-cash came into being. Since then Neteller has become the major service for the transfer of funds within the poker industry. It allows the user to make deposits in a poker room without the use of a credit card or wire transfer while it also allows them to make quicker withdrawals. This system helps to reduce the possibility of fraud.
Perhaps the two most popular online poker rooms in the industry were established in 2001. Poker Stars and Party Poker changed the face on internet poker and allowed the game to become extremely popular worldwide. In 2003 Party Poker launched its advertising campaign using the television as its main advertising medium. Its launch of the Party Poker Million and its strategic advertising campaigns during the World Poker Tour, Party Poker soon became the force to reckon with in the online poker business.
Online Poker reached a new high in 2004. The success of the game through this new venture attracted more online rooms. In October 2004, Sportingbet, a publicly traded online sports book bought Paradise Poker for $297.5 million. New firms including FullTilt also emerged.
The rise of these online poker rooms affected the legislature of some countries as well. A bill was passed in the United Kingdom allowing the licensing and regulation of online gambling firms.
There are currently about 545 online poker websites. About 24 of these are stand-alone sites while the others operate o 21 different shared networks. Pokerstars.com is listed as the largest online poker room having the largest number of online players at any one time.