Online Poker Figures Drop in New Jersey

Online Poker Figures Drop in New Jersey

Thursday, 14 May 2015

The latest round of financial returns for New Jersey's online poker sites has been posted and the latest figures tell a somewhat disappointing story. According to a report released by NewJerseyCasinos.com, the poker revenue for the likes of partypoker, 888 NJ and WSOP.com was down by a noticeable margin.

Although the real term drops aren't enough to cause concern and will likely be considered part of the industry's ebb and flow, the decline raises questions over the viability of single state playerpools. As it stands, New Jersey is the largest US state in terms of igaming revenue and the latest round of figures shows an 11.1% overall increase compared to the same point in 2014.

"Although slightly disappointing on some fronts, the overall strength of New Jersey's igaming market has continued to improve in April. The year-on-year increase is fantastic news for the State's liquidity and it now looks as though the operators are learning how to better cater to their players," said NewJerseyCasinos.com's Nick Wilby.

However, poker is struggling to keep pace with casino games and that's prompted many to call for liquidity sharing initiatives to be revisited. Currently only Nevada and Delaware share poker players across their borders and, while some hope New Jersey will join the party, it doesn't look as though there are any immediate changes on the horizon.

In real terms, the four sites that offer online poker in New Jersey were able to rake in just over $2 million in April. Compared to previous months this figure is roughly in line with current expectations; however, it's also a far cry from where operators would like it to be.

One glimmer of hope on the horizon for those in the Garden State is the pending arrival of PokerStars. Although there has been no confirmation of when the world's largest poker operator will join the party, the application process is expected to be completed soon.

If and when this happens it should spark something of a poker revolution within the state and help boost the overall revenue figures for all sites.



Tags: New Jersey, USA, regulation