With COVID-19 keeping Atlantic City card rooms closed, and the WSOP Online Bracelet Series giving players a reason to log on throughout the month, New Jersey’s online poker revenue saw a major increase in July.
New Jersey is one of four states with legal poker sites running, joining Nevada, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. The Garden State, along with Nevada, played host to the first-ever WSOP Online Bracelet Series on WSOP.com.
Players in those two states competed for 31 gold World Series of Poker bracelets throughout July. The series replaced what was supposed to be the 51st annual live WSOP at the Rio in Las Vegas. COVID-19 may have stripped poker players of their normal summer fun in Sin City, but it certainly benefitted the New Jersey online poker industry, and internet gambling in general.
Online Poker Revenue Crushes Year-Over-Year Figures
New Jersey currently has three legal internet poker sites — WSOP.com (Caesars), Partypoker (Borgata), and PokerStars (Resorts World). In July of 2019, those sites combined to generate $1,886,918 in gross revenue, considered an average month for the state.
This year, however, July’s online poker revenue hit $4,818,561, an increase of 155.37% year-over-year. During the month of June, revenue was also high — $3,537,037. July’s revenue was up 36.2% compared to June, thanks in large part to the WSOP Online Bracelet Series.
WSOP.com, a Caesars Interactive Entertainment platform, was responsible for 58.7% ($2,826,806) of all online poker revenue in the Garden State. Partypoker, operated through MGM’s Borgata, raked in $845,580 from poker (17.5%), while Resorts World’s PokerStars NJ site brought in $1,146,175 (23.8%) per the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.
Online Gambling Booming During COVID-19
Although online poker has seen a rebirth, the game still represents just a small portion of overall gambling rake. New Jersey online poker revenue in July, despite its banner month, was worth just 5.8% of the state’s overall internet gambling figures.
New Jersey’s seven legal online casinos brought in $82,674,391 in gross revenue last month. That’s a 120.9% spike compared to the same month a year ago ($37,428,813).
Golden Nugget, as per usual, brought in the lion’s share of the revenue ($31,480,080) without a poker site. PokerStars NJ’s partner casino, Resorts World, represented the second-largest share at $18,031,664. Borgata, which owns the Partypoker NJ poker site, took in $15,297,228 in online gambling rake.
Caesars Interactive Entertainment, the owners WSOP.com, generated $9,672,828 in revenue, 29.2% coming from poker.
