The Rise and Rise of Poker An article by The Sportsman
The immense diversion of the gambling and betting industry over the last ten years has without question changed forever. The likes of football betting, online casinos and, of course, poker hardly existed on the betting landscape as horse racing was in a market of one. The internet coupled with the Lottery have transformed the industry permanently and its all the better for it.
The National Lottery place a crucial role in all this despite being hailed by bookmakers at the time as being the deathnel of the ff-course betting shop. The reality, and to be fair nobody, saw it coming, was that The Lottery sanitized the whole notion of betting it was now seen as OK to have a small flutter for a bit of fun. The internet arrived simply as the rocket fuel to pour on the naked flame.
Nevertheless, the real product winner is without question poker. The exchanges have a case but they are still, at present, seen as only for the sophisticated gambler. No doubt as the rest of the world catches up with the UK the likes of Betfair will flourish more globally but perversely they almost need the traditional bookmaker to...