Canada
Pros Or Newbies – Who’s Playing Live Poker at Online Casinos?
If you’re wondering who gambles online, the short answer is – almost everyone. It’s estimated that more than 4.2 billion people gamble on the internet at least once a year. Most of them do it by either playing online casino games like slots or roulette or by placing sports wagers.
Surprisingly, there’s also a significant community that plays live poker games over the internet. Many place the number at more than 100 million active players in the world. What’s interesting is that their number keeps on growing exponentially. This could mean that a significant number of players are only making baby steps in online poker, which raises the question of whether there are more pro-poker players or beginners.
How Experienced are Online Poker Players?
Who plays online poker more – pros or beginners? The answer is both. However, the two categories don’t cross their paths on internet poker platforms too often.
The thing is that pros are usually willing to play online poker at higher stakes. After all, they have money that they earned from playing poker professionally. Therefore, they tend to play against other high-rolling poker pros.
Poker newbies, on the other hand, usually start slowly, playing low-stakes games. That seems to be the right thing to do, at least for those who don’t want to risk losing all they got in just a few hands.
Another reason why newcomers are advised to start with low stakes is that this will enable them to get better at poker. This way, they get a chance to play poker for a long time against different types of opponents, gaining valuable experience along the way.
Play Poker Games Live In Different Languages
A study by researchers from the University of Hamburg a few years ago revealed that nearly one-quarter of all online poker players are from the United States. It’s no surprise, considering that this game’s birthplace is America. The growth of online casinos, on the other hand, has significantly contributed to the global increase in the number of poker players.
Poker at online casinos is not only tailored to newcomers, but it is also available in more languages. Initially, live poker games could only be played on English-language platforms, but as online gambling became more popular in other parts of the world, operators began to offer live dealers in additional languages. This includes some languages spoken in countries where gambling is banned. One of the best examples is the Middle East.
Poker is one of the most popular game categories at Arabic-Casinos.org, and an increasing number of visitors from the region are looking for casinos that offer live poker in Arabic. As a result, online casino operators and game developers have recognized the market’s potential and are offering more products and services aimed at the Arabic market.
Gender Aspect of Online Poker
In the United States, 95% of all professional poker players are men, compared to just 5% of female poker players. Further, if you take a look at The Hendon Mob All Time Money List, there’s just one woman in the top 100. The lady in question is Vanessa Selbst, whose $11,906,247 in earnings make her the #79 most successful poker players in the world.
It’s a bit of a different situation when it comes to amateur poker players. Although no one can say for certain how many female players are playing live poker over the internet, it’s likely that their number isn’t small. The reason why there’s no data that could tell us the exact number of women playing online poker is that many gambling sites don’t require you to reveal your gender in order to be able to play.
What’s the Thrill Behind Playing Live Poker?
The main advantage of online poker is that you can play it wherever you might be. You don’t have to go to a casino – you can do it from the comfort of your home, but also on the go, playing it on your smartphone.
Another great thing about it is that the internet allows you to play poker against people from around the world. That said, you can always find some opponents ready to play with you for real money, even if it’s the middle of the night in your part of the world.
Conveniently, online live poker enables you to play whenever you want, wherever you might be, and against whomever you want.
Over the years, poker has become an integral part of American culture, with numerous movies and songs being inspired by the game. Just think of Lady Gaga’s breakthrough hit “Poker Face” and you’ll see what we mean.
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affiliate marketing
SEOBROTHERS’ Aleksandra Drigo flags higher barriers for affiliates in regulated Alberta
SEOBROTHERS Chief of Business Development Aleksandra Drigo says Alberta’s move toward a regulated online gambling market is likely to raise the cost and complexity of affiliate acquisition, reshaping competition for SEO-led publishers. Drigo shared the view in an exclusive interview with SiGMA News focused on Canada’s affiliate landscape.
Drigo said regulation can bring more transparency, but also higher compliance demands and tougher economics for smaller players. “Many affiliates, especially independent SEO players, may decide not to enter fully regulated markets and instead focus on regions with more predictable economics and lower regulatory pressure,” she said.
She added that regulated markets typically advantage well-funded affiliate groups with the ability to invest in legal and compliance support and tracking infrastructure. “Regulated markets tend to favour larger players. Big affiliate companies have the resources for legal support, compliance teams, advanced tracking infrastructure, and long-term investment without expecting fast ROI.”
On partner selection, Drigo said affiliates are increasingly weighing operators on operational quality and regulatory readiness, not just commercial terms. “We pay close attention to how consistent an operator is in terms of reporting, responsible gaming policies, speed of communication, and local regulations compliance. Reputation risks affect both sides. If an operator lacks transparency or fails to follow compliance standards, it directly impacts the affiliate business as well.”
Drigo also pointed to communication and access to performance data as major friction points in operator-affiliate relationships. “Financial disagreements can usually be resolved quickly if there is trust and clear communication between both sides. Whereas, when affiliates do not receive timely information, face unclear reporting, or get no explanation for performance changes, tensions escalate very quickly. In regulated markets, communication and transparency become just as important as the financial terms themselves.”
Looking ahead, Drigo said affiliates targeting regulated North American markets will need stronger localisation, trusted brands and more diversified traffic strategies as search behaviour changes. “With AI and online search ecosystem changes already transforming the SEO landscape, affiliates need to become much more flexible and technology-driven than before. And compliance-friendly SEO strategies and diversification beyond traditional search traffic are becoming increasingly important.”
The post SEOBROTHERS’ Aleksandra Drigo flags higher barriers for affiliates in regulated Alberta appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Affiliate Industry
SiGMA exclusive: Aleksandra Drigo on traffic shifts, transparency, and the future of SEO affiliates
In an exclusive interview for the SiGMA News, Aleksandra Drigo, Chief of Business Development at SEOBROTHERS, shared her perspective on the future of affiliate marketing in Canada.
She discussed how Alberta’s upcoming market launch could reshape competition, why transparency has become a cornerstone of operator-affiliate partnerships, how compliance is changing the way affiliates choose partners, and why localisation, trusted brands, and data-driven decision-making will define the next generation of SEO affiliates.
Regulation will reshape Alberta’s affiliate landscape
As Alberta prepares to regulate its online gambling market, affiliates are entering a more challenging environment. While regulation brings greater transparency, it also increases compliance demands, acquisition costs, and competition – particularly from larger, well-funded companies.
“Many affiliates, especially independent SEO players, may decide not to enter fully regulated markets and instead focus on regions with more predictable economics and lower regulatory pressure,” Aleksandra said.
Bigger brands gain the advantage
According to Drigo, regulated markets naturally favour established affiliate businesses, whereas smaller publishers face much higher barriers to entry despite niche opportunities still existing.
“Regulated markets tend to favour larger players. Big affiliate companies have the resources for legal support, compliance teams, advanced tracking infrastructure, and long-term investment without expecting fast ROI.”
Compliance is now a deciding factor
Operator selection is no longer based solely on commercial terms. Affiliates increasingly assess partners by their transparency, reporting quality, responsible gaming standards, responsiveness, and ability to meet local regulatory requirements.
“We pay close attention to how consistent an operator is in terms of reporting, responsible gaming policies, speed of communication, and local regulations compliance. Reputation risks affect both sides. If an operator lacks transparency or fails to follow compliance standards, it directly impacts the affiliate business as well.”
Communication matters more than financial disputes
Drigo believes that most partnership conflicts arise not from payment issues, but from poor communication and limited access to performance data.
“Financial disagreements can usually be resolved quickly if there is trust and clear communication between both sides. Whereas, when affiliates do not receive timely information, face unclear reporting, or get no explanation for performance changes, tensions escalate very quickly. In regulated markets, communication and transparency become just as important as the financial terms themselves.”
The future belongs to trusted brands and localisation
Looking ahead, Drigo expects meticulous localisation, brand authority, first-party audiences, and community-driven products to define success in regulated North American markets. As AI reshapes search, affiliates will need stronger technology, diversified traffic sources, and compliance-friendly SEO strategies to remain competitive.
“With AI and online search ecosystem changes already transforming the SEO landscape, affiliates need to become much more flexible and technology-driven than before. And compliance-friendly SEO strategies and diversification beyond traditional search traffic are becoming increasingly important.”
The post SiGMA exclusive: Aleksandra Drigo on traffic shifts, transparency, and the future of SEO affiliates appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
St8 has extended its content partnership with Octoplay into Ontario and the UK, expanding distribution of Octoplay’s casino games in two regulated markets. The companies announced the move on 2 July, 2026.
Under the expanded agreement, St8 will make Octoplay’s full portfolio available to operators in both jurisdictions through St8’s single API integration.
David Fall, Business Development Manager at St8, said:
“Expanding our partnership with Octoplay into Ontario and the UK is another important milestone as we continue to strengthen our aggregation platform with premium content from leading suppliers.
“Octoplay has built an excellent reputation for developing engaging, high-performing games, and we’re delighted to extend this collaboration into two highly strategic regulated markets. This agreement enables our operator partners to access even more quality content through a single integration while supporting their growth in competitive jurisdictions.”
Ralitsa Georgieva, CEO at Octoplay added:
“We’re pleased to expand our partnership with St8 into Ontario and the UK, making our full portfolio available to even more operators through its aggregation platform. St8 has established itself as a trusted technology partner for regulated markets, and we look forward to building on our successful collaboration together.”
The post St8 expands Octoplay aggregation deal to Ontario and the UK appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
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