Are you seeking a poker domain for Christmas? Maybe you have a friend or family member who loves poker and building search-engine-optimized websites? Then you’re in luck, because Poker.com is for sale, and you can buy it now for $20 million.
When (if?) Poker.com sells, it will become the most expensive gambling-related domain ever sold, and potentially the fourth priciest domain sale in history.
In 2010, Insurance.com sold for $35.6 million, making it the most expensive domain sale in history. The website is a one-stop shop for life, health, auto, home, and motorcycle insurance buyers. The website, according to Estibot.com, is currently worth approximately $36.9 million.
Originally created in 1998, Poker.com is a reference site for poker tournament information and poker strategy. The site doesn’t appear to have much recent content. The “news” section hasn’t been updated since 2015.
The Poker.com URL is being offered through the domain auction company NameJet, which is also looking to broker a deal for Poker.asia at $5 million and for Holdem.net at $30,000.
What’s in a Name?
Ask any SEO expert for advice on building a successful website, and they’ll tell you choosing the right domain name is key. That is why the Poker.com is so valuable.
Domain names that end in dot-com and include either a major brand (e.g. Pepsi.com) or general niche (Insurance.com) are almost instantly considered authority sites by Google. So, if you run a Google search for “Pepsi” or “Insurance,” you’ll notice the first non-sponsored (paid) listings are Pepsi.com and Insurance.com.
Since most search engine users don’t venture beyond the first page of results, it’s crucial for any website that relies on search engine traffic to achieve first-page status. And even more valuable to be listed at the very top, such as is the case for Pepsi.com and Insurance.com.
According to SEOBook.com, a #1 Google ranking is worth 8.5 times the value of the #5 spot.
Hence, why authority sites such as Poker.com are so expensive. Whether or not someone else sees the same value in people who search for “poker,” however, remains to be seen. If no one ponies up the $20 million to put a new poker venture under the Christmas tree, the domain will be sold at a live auction on Jan. 30.
Pricey Domain History
Insurance.com was the priciest domain sale in history, but only by a smidge over VacationRentals.com, which sold for $35 million in 2007. PrivateJet.com, in 2012, sold for just under the cost of an actual private jet ($30.18 million).
One of the most lucrative online niches, not surprisingly, is the adult industry. This may come as a shocker, but millions of people around the world view pornographic imagery. Considering the popularity of such activity, some of the most expensive domain sales ever have included Sex.com ($13 million), Porn.com ($9.5 million), and Porno.com ($8,888,888).
If Poker.com sells for its asking price, it will become the fourth largest domain sale in history. The current largest gambling-related niche site sale is a tie between Casino.com (2003) and Slots.com (2010), both going for $5.5 million.
Gambling.com reportedly sold for $2.5 million shortly after Black Friday in 2011.
A controversial sale of PokerTribes.com (and other assets) for $9.4 million in 2012 resulted in an ongoing lawsuit, with the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes of Oklahoma claiming web developers partnered with Universal Entertainment ripped them off, selling a domain that couldn’t deliver.
