Celebrating its third full year in business, the New Jersey online gaming industry is a tale of two sides. The online casino and slots operation is steaming along full bore, carrying the entirety of the industry in the state, while online poker hasn’t been quite the windfall expected. Nothing shows that more than the most recent monthly totals from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.
In October, the DGE reported that the overall industry had brought in $20.5 million over the month of October. That was a 23.4% increase in the year-to-year comparison with 2016, but more importantly it was the tenth consecutive month that the state had a “win” rate of over $20 million. If that wasn’t good enough for the naysayers, there was more good news overall.
For the calendar year 2017, the $204 million that has been brought in set a new record for the industry. That 26.7% increase over the revenues from 2016 has allowed 2017 to eclipse the entire year of 2016, when the New Jersey online gaming industry took in just under $200 million ($197 million). With two months to go in the calendar year, 2017 could crest over the $240 million mark, should the previous numbers continue at the same strength.
Online poker, however, was not a part of the good news from the New Jersey reports. October 2017 saw $1.93 million earned by the three operations in the state – Borgata/party, Caesars/Harrah’s/888 and Resorts AC/PokerStars. Compared to October 2016, that was a 19% drop from the $2.39 million that was earned. Of the three online rooms, Resorts/PokerStars took the biggest hit, dropping 30% in the year-to-year comparison.
The numbers for online poker get a bit more desperate when compared to their percentage of the overall online gaming numbers. The online poker numbers don’t even make up 10% of the overall earnings in the New Jersey online gaming industry. Furthermore, in comparing the two years, there was only two months in 2016 where the online poker segment came in with less than $2 million in monthly earnings; in 2017, there has been double that with two months to go.
What are the problems with online poker in New Jersey? It is the problem that has long plagued the game in casinos in that, while people like the casual gambling aspect of slots or table games, online poker requires a longer investment of time and money to be successful. Thus, there is a limited market for online poker to people that are dedicated to playing the game.
Then there is the liquidity issue. While it is the largest state with an active online gaming industry (8.9 million citizens, which will be passed when Pennsylvania’s 12.1 million citizens can play online in 2018), a restricted number of players doesn’t allow for a great deal of growth. The liquidity deals signed with Nevada and Delaware don’t seem to have helped New Jersey at all, but only one site (Caesars/888) can take advantage of the liquidity deal between the three states at this time.
Finally, it is entirely possible that the U. S. appetite for poker has finally peaked. While we will never return to the era of the late 1990s regarding the game, online poker is a much more difficult game than it was when it started in the early 2000s. While players yearn for the days when they could make a decent living from playing online poker, the casinos aren’t interested in making online poker “heroes” today and instead are interested in making a good bit of coin for themselves.
If those states running online poker are to increase their numbers, they must take a “slow and steady” approach instead of looking at overnight, “quick” fixes. You can run all the special online tournaments you want but, if there aren’t the players for it, they won’t expand your base any. The online poker sites should work on improving their services to customers, perhaps offering more live rewards for online efforts (among other things).
While online poker isn’t the revenue giant that those in the poker industry thought, it is good to see the overall success of the New Jersey operations. It shows other states that full online casino gaming with poker is the best method to success. It also demonstrates that the online gaming industry can be regulated by a state with a relative amount of ease.
