NJ Online Casinos Flourish while Internet Poker Revenue Falls

New Jersey has been in the online gambling business for three years now, and if there’s one constant regulators can rely on these days, it’s that their online casino revenue will steadily rise, while internet poker yield heads downhill.

For the month of June 2016, online casinos saw yet another boost in revenue as more players are spending their gambling dollars on interactive slot machines, video poker and table games. Conversely, the internet poker realm experienced a trending drop in revenue over the course of the month.

The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) reported an impressive 40.6% increase in revenue from regulated online gambling sites last month, up to $16.4 million compared to the $11.7 million generated in the same month last year, June 2015.

Collectively, NJ’s five Atlantic City casinos that participate in licensed online gambling operations generated $14,433,002 in online casino revenue during the month of June. That figure represents an increase of 3% over May 2016, in which the DGE reported $13,975,305 in revenue.

As for internet poker, though, the numbers fell 23.4% month over month. The state’s 3 land-based casinos that participate in peer-to-peer interactive gaming (i.e. online poker) generated just $1,969,175 last month, compared to $2,570,853 in May 2016.

PokerStars NJ Revenue Drops Dramatically

The most significant factor in month over month internet poker revenue was a dramatic decline reported by Resorts Digital Gaming, partnered with iGaming giant PokerStars. The site fell from generating $1,151,703 in May, to $778,070 in June – a 33.5% declination in a single month’s time.

The state’s other internet poker operators – Caesars Interactive and Borgata – also experienced decreasing revenue this month, but not quite so dramatically. Caesars fell 12.4% from $687,287 to $602,103, while Borgata dipped 19.5% from $731,863 to $589,002.

As for PokerStars, there are several factors that could have attributed to the severe decline in revenue. For one, the site’s renowned Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) took place in May, which surely boosted player participation significantly. Secondly – and this goes for all NJ internet poker sites – the summer months are a time when the industry experiences a global fall-off in revenue due to more players enjoying the warm outdoor weather.

There’s also the simple fact that May had 31 days, whereas June consists of only 30. That single day lost potentially altered the month’s figures by more than $65k.

Shared Liquidity with UK?

Regulators in New Jersey are under no false pretenses when it comes to the state’s flagging internet poker market. It’s no secret that a larger pool pf player translates to more participation from local residents, and increasing the size of that pool is exactly what they had in mind when New Jersey began talks of a shared liquidity compact with the United Kingdom earlier this month.

No official contracts have been established just yet, and it could take many months for such an agreement to actually go into effect, should it be reached, but DGE Director David Rebuck told Global Gaming Business:

“With 9 million people in New Jersey, and more than 63 million in the United Kingdom, this would mean a massive increase in liquidity for New Jersey operators. Even when you discount children and non-gamblers, it gives us access to a market that is very familiar with online gaming. That number is one-fifth of the total U.S. population.”