Talking about the stats, it would not be the same but not that down either. Gambling discussion is one of the interesting sections here in the forum.
Admit it or not, the casino signature has turned Board Gambling into one of the busiest Boards on the Bitcointalk forum. Most of the signature rules that we have seen, are required to make a post on Board Gambling with predetermined minimum post. No need to look at the statistics, most users are interested in posting here just to fulfill the quota and requirements to get paid every week.