Run It Once Poker Shuts Down Global Operations to Focus on US Market

Run It Once Poker will cease offering games from January 3, 2022. Phil Galfond, the founder of Run It Once Poker, announced the closure in a blog post on December 30, 2021. Players have until April 3, 2022, to withdraw their balances.

The closure is due to various business reasons, including the impact of the pandemic on traffic. The pandemic changed life over the last two years, making it difficult to plan a strategy for the future. The Galfond Challenge and Legends rewards program offered a considerable boost to traffic, but new games did not help as much as hoped. As the world returns to a more normal state, Run It Once was hit hard by what was Covid-traffic leaving to pursue other interests. The net result was a return to traffic figures last seen in late 2019—a real kick in the teeth.

Run It Once Poker will focus on entering the US market. Phil Galfond writes that his dream was always to build his brand in the global player pool with a view to entering the US market as soon as an opening was available. After it was decided to concentrate on entering the US market, the team quickly understood that this would mean shutting down the global operation, for the time being at least.