888 overtakes Party in poker traffic rankings

eGaming Review poker operator of the year 888 has risen to fourth in Pokerscout’s online poker traffic rankings, overtaking PartyPoker for the first time.

The London-listed firm, whose standalone network also includes the World Series of Poker skin formed by its partnership with Caesars Interactive Entertainment, has risen above its fellow Gibraltar licensee despite Zynga’s UK-facing real-money offering joining the PartyPoker network in April.

Party’s 24-hour peak is still higher at more than 3,900 players, and both sites maintain a seven-day average of 2,050 players, meaning 888 edges out its rival by a small margin.

Revenues from 888’s online poker arm continued to grow in Q1 2013, rising 15% year-on-year to US$24m, and the operator now only trails PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Playtech’s iPoker network for cash game traffic.

Meanwhile, 888 retains second spot for dot.es cash game traffic behind PokerStars, however the firm handed back its French licence in December last year, effectively closing the dot.fr network set up via a joint venture with Microgaming.

PartyPoker still far outstrips 888 for traffic on its play-money tables, according to Pokerscout figures, with its seven-day average of 2,450 players more than double that of 888.