Online poker sites in New Jersey experienced mixed fortunes in June with interstate liquidity sharing entering its second month.
According to the latest revenue report from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE), online poker rake for June was $1,757,839, up by 1.3 percent year-on-year.
Of the state’s three licensed operators, Caesars (888poker and WSOP.com) saw the greatest gains with earnings increasing 73 percent compared to the same period in 2017.
Caesars Interstate Dominance
As the only licensee with connected player pools in New Jersey, Nevada, and Delaware, Caesars has taken players from its rivals. According to the DGE report, PokerStars and Borgata both recorded their worst ever June earnings, with revenue reaching just $564,891 and $378,019, respectively.
Much of Caesars success in June can be attributed to the World Series of Poker (WSOP). With the Series hosting four online bracelet events, players in New Jersey were able to join the action via WSOP.com.
Despite the annual upswing, online poker revenue was down on a monthly basis, which suggests liquidity sharing may not be having a huge immediate impact. Compared to the $1,929,693 taken in May, the state’s trio of operators saw revenue slip by 8.9 percent.
One saving grace for poker players in New Jersey is that June and July are typically slower months. With a large portion of the community taking part in the WSOP and others heading off on vacation, traffic often drops off over the summer.
Expected Sports Betting Surge
Elsewhere in the online gaming industry, the Garden State’s casino sites continued to bloom — with June 2018 revenue at $20,926,255, up 13.1 percent from June 2017.
Offline, slot machine revenue in Atlantic City increased by 7.2 percent but table game wins fell by 0.5 percent year-on-year.
While the latest results offered a combination of high and lows for poker and casino operators, it was nothing but good news for sports betting businesses. With the state’s first bookmakers going live on June 14, the records show that $3.5 million was wagered in the space of just two weeks.
For industry insiders, the advent of regulated sports betting in New Jersey could boost all verticals. Early numbers are strong, and as more people start to bet on sports in casinos, operators will look to use cross-promotions to bolster their other assets.
July will be the first full month of sports betting in New Jersey, something commentators will be waiting to examine when the next round of revenue results are published.
Online and mobile sports betting in New Jersey is expected to go live in a few weeks.
