Explaining the decision to cease publication after 12 years founder Nic Szeremeta said: “As a free publication we have always depended on advertising for our revenue and since the recession this has declined by over 60 per cent. At the same time our production and distribution costs have been rising.

“Mergers, acquisitions and closure of online card rooms have weakened our potential market and the bright young things who now promote and market poker prefer to use the Internet rather than print media.

“Operators of bricks and mortar poker rooms are also cutting their budgets.

“The situation is not helped by the fact that some operators seem to think they can get away with not paying their bills”.

The original purpose of Poker Europa was to unite the poker scene this side of the Atlantic and to inform players in all poker-playing nation about events and news outside of their own countries.

Szeremeta said: “In this we succeeded. However the increase of such information on the Internet, supplied as it happens, now makes print publications almost irrelevant.

“One thing I know about poker is when to quit the game and this is it.

“Heartfelt hanks to all our loyal readers, advertisers, writers, translators, printer, designer and our hard-working editor Eliza Burnett - you have been great”.