The evolution of online poker has been a rollercoaster ride of rapid growth, setbacks, and resurgence. It all began in 1998, when Planet Poker, the inaugural real-money online cardroom, debuted. That same year witnessed the release of Rounders, a movie about highstakes poker, featuring Matt Damon and Edward Norton, that gained a cult following. Fast forward to 2003 when Chris Moneymaker’s triumph in the $10,000 World Series of Poker Main Event in Las Vegas, stemming from an $86 satellite tournament, triggered an unprecedented boom in poker circles, etched in history as the “Moneymaker Effect.” Moneymaker, a previously unknown recreational player, beat a field of 839 entrants, up nearly 200 players from the year prior, but the craze resulted in a tripling of the field in 2004, up to 2,576 players. By 2006, it reached a record of 8,773 players. However, the growth was eventually stunted by cheating scandals, fear of bots, and distrust of policing the product, as well as the U.S. market being dealt a neardeadly blow due to the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in 2006. After poker posted a global Poker Industry Overview 48 Sponsored by Casino City’s iGaming Pocket Directory POKER
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