But the sites which still accept players from the USA have, certainly, shown growth. Thus, on the very eve of the New Year 2008 PokerStars announced about achievement of one humdred and fifty 000 poker players simultaneously, but still these growth rates are not more than 50 percent annually.CMD368 Slot

Curiously enough, the slowdown of on-line poker room players was also very noticeable not online. For the first time over many years at the main WSOP tournament there were fewer players than the previous year, at the, approximately 20 percent less. Earlier a large number of gamblers were presented by on-line poker rooms, but loss of the number of American gamblers online, as well as tougher rules concerning the advertising of on-line poker rooms at the tournament resulted in the rooms being passive in involvement of gamblers for WSOP.

If everything is bad in america, than in Europe the situation is contradictory. On the one hand, the EUROPEAN did not allow the Italians, trying to ban online casino games, to do it. A new law in great britain not only legalizes online wagering as well as allows advertising online casinos, however, the company should be licensed in the EUROPEAN. In connection with this, Malta, which has become the centre of online companies in Europe, has a windfall and will manage to earn quite some money. On the other hand, Germany passed a law on New Year's Eve which banned online casino games and their advertising, though, everybody considers that the EUROPEAN will make the German repeal the law in question. For quite a while there are rumours in the air that Norway will ban online casino games, Turkey, though it is not quite a European country but it in addition has added a ban.

As for on-line poker, there was a rift within on-line poker rooms awaiting for its resolution. For the first time fraud in an on-line poker room was proved and accepted (to be exact, not the room itself, but of one of its senior managers). Absolute Poker confessed that one of the leaders gained access to the players' cards (he knew all the pocket cards, but not the cards which drop out at the flop/turn/river). He shared this information along with his partner who managed to win a big tournament. To prove everything was possible due to a just mistake in sending of the history which was received by another participant of the disastrous tournament. Absolute Poker made an investigation, assured to refund losses to all or any those who suffered and toughen the security system. Though, Absolute Poker cheating scandal has caused damage not only for a poker-room, as well as the industry overall, however, this blow is not fatal.

From the technical point of view, the past year have not brought anything new. The mobile poker, 3D-poker, are usually now being gradually developed, but all this appeared even earlier. On-line poker rooms actively create versions not to be delivered electronically, add new games, reduce the software, add new methods of payment and change table sizes.

What is awaiting us in the course of the year 2008 which has from? I doubt whether it is worthwhile waiting for a breakthrough. The time scale of heavy growth in online wagering industry has recently terminated, the time scale of debt consolidation is coming, the time of struggle for new casino players. Poker networks will continue to grow (both in regards to the number of rooms and gamblers), evidently, there will be mergers and takeovers. Advertising budgets will grow, but players will hardly be able to make a profit out of it - casino bonus conditions will almost certainly get worse. The level of gamblers will slowly but surely grow, most likely, so your competition will grow at tables. Hopefully, you won't suffer from all these trends, I wish you success in game and happy year!