We talk about income streams a lot here at My Multiple Incomes. But an interesting question came up from a reader – can poker or other gambling be an income stream? Betting on sports is rising in popularity worldwide, but strategy games like poker are the still the top dogs in many places, including in Australia.
Poker still dominates the Australian gambling sector, according to industry experts, as Australian gaming continues to expand. A study by IBIS World predicts that the industry is set to enjoy a further growth of 3.3% throughout 2012, with poker set to continue to be the major source of revenue – accounting for 60.2% of the projected revenue of $22.5 billion brought in by the gambling sector this year.
An Income Stream From Home
The prominent presence of poker games within online casino sites has been suggested as a primary reason for the ongoing supremacy of the game, with a wide variety of online tournaments available for users of these sites, alongside the likes of slots games, roulette and blackjack. This allows poker players to build an income stream from the comfort of their living rooms.
“The gambling industry has been very strong in Australia for many years now. This has clearly been helped by the growth of several online gaming websites that offer hundreds of online casino games,” said the official representative of the Lucky Nugget online casino, Terry Maverick, before adding: “At Lucky Nugget, for example, we provide a great range of video poker, online casino, and table games, as well as Free Loyalty Points every time you place a bet.”
Other Forms Are Gaining Popularity
However, despite the continued ascendancy of poker, the IBIS World study indicates that it is not actually the sector enjoying the fastest rate of growth – sports betting is. This area is currently expanding at a more rapid pace than the likes of lotteries, slots games and horse racing, although it currently only accounts for 1.6% of the total revenue accrued from gaming.
A spokeswoman from Southern Cross University’s centre for gambling, education and research, Sally Gainsbury, argued that the rise of mobile technology – coupled with stronger, targeted advertising by gambling companies at sporting events – has inextricably linked gambling with sports in the minds of the public.
The trouble with sports, however, is that it is much difficult to play based on strategy, which makes it a much more difficult form to make an income stream out of. You should keep this in mind as you look into alternative income streams.
Have you ever considered poker to be an income stream?
This post was written by
Robert is the founder and editor of My Multiple incomes, a personal finance site dedicated to highlighting how anyone can create multiple income streams and diversify their cash flow.
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It can be if you know what you are doing. My brother works as a poker dealer in a casino and no sooner has his shift finished he will be heading to another casino to play, he loses a lot of his wages.
B/c it is a zero sum game, I think the answer is NO. I am a big poker player and just won my first tourney of the year last weekend. But, I’ve also lost hundreds of dollars bad beats too.
While I do believe poker can be an income stream I do not believe it can be a reliable one. In order to consistently win you need to number 1 understand the game and play a lot of hands. This is too time consuming for an individual such as myself and I tend to look for passive income streams.
Poker can absolutely be a very good income stream. It takes a lot of discipline but there is definitely money to be made, especially if you live in an area where it is still legal to play online. Online there is such a vast number of games available you don’t have to worry about the money drying up or the games being too tough, because another one is always just a click away. I wouldn’t say poker is an EASY way to make money, but it can definitely be reliable.
[...] @ My Multiple Incomes writes Can Poker Be an Income Stream? – A study by IBIS World predicts that the industry is set to enjoy a further growth of 3.3% [...]