Delaware iGaming Revenues Dive 14% To $143,101 In February

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Thursday, April 9th, 2015 | Written by Charles Washington

The Delaware State Lottery has released its online gambling figures for February 2015, and while overall revenues of $143,101 were lower by 14% compared to the same month last year, iPoker revenues rose to $34,526 during the short month, up 25% from the $27,695 generated in January, and representing a six-month high for the state’s poker market.

Poker Revenues Improve

Delaware’s three online poker sites raked in $34,526 in February, with Delaware Park continuing to lead the way with $22,118 of that tally, or 64% of the total iPoker market. Meanwhile, Dover Downs generated $8,300 last month, or 24% of the market, and Harrington Raceway a mere $4,108, still worth an 11% share of overall poker revenues. While February’s results are encouraging, at the end of March Delaware started sharing its poker player pool with Nevada, and so when April’s figures eventually come out analysts are expecting to see a major jump in state revenues.

Online Gambling Takes A Hit

Including all iGaming games, Delaware reported an 8.3% rise in revenues compared to the $132,074 taken in January, with blackjack and roulette down 38% to $85,457 compared to the previous month, and video poker and slots also down 38% to $23,117. Accounting for a massive 78% of the market was Delaware Park with $111,979 in iGaming revenues, followed by Dover Downs with a 19% market share worth $26,785 in February, and Harrington Raceway with a 3% share worth $4,336.

New Registrations Down

In February, the number of people signing up for new online gambling accounts totaled 274, representing a 4.5% decline compared to the 287 who did so in January. These figures, however, pale into insignificance compared to the 2,654 players who opened new accounts when Delaware first launched regulated iGaming in November 2013, and the 1,336 players who follwed suit in December 2013. This continual trailing off in new registrations is likely due to a lack of iPoker liquidity resulting in an unattractive poker environment, and as Delaware State Lottery director Vernon Kirk, explains:

“There weren’t enough games available for the customers to be able to find when they wanted to find them at the stakes that they wanted. Some that came in early got disappointed when they couldn’t find games and drifted away.”

Overall, a total of 10,098 people have signed up for online gambling accounts in the First State, or roughly 1.1% of the state’s small population.

Nevada/Delaware Compact A Game Changer

The poker-only interstate compact enacted between Nevada and Delaware on March 24th has the potential to be a game changer for Delaware, as its state residents now have access to the larger market of Nevada, which has a state population around three times that of its own. As a result, many of the players who initially entered Delaware’s online poker market in the early days of regulation, never to return, may now be tempted back by the recent surge in cash game, multi-table tournaments, and sit and go action. According to PokerScout, for instance, Delaware’s poker network is currently showing an average of 180 cash players over a 7-day period, a major improvement compared to the less than 10 players noted before its compact with Nevada’s WSOP.com was enacted.

A Year And A Half Later

It has been almost a year and a half since Delaware launched its regulated online gambling industry, and after an initially promising start in which iGaming revenue reached a monthly record of $241,000 in April 2014, revenues have since averaged roughly $150,000 each month. For the whole of 2014, online gambling revenues then totaled $2.1 million, which once one considers that the first $3.75 million of revenues go directly towards state coffers, means all three of Delaware’s casinos have yet to make any money from the industry. As well as a small state population, and a previously segregated poker pool, analysts have also blamed geolocation problems and a lack of mobile gaming options as contributing to the industry’s slow start.

Finally, the situation could still become a lot worse for Delaware, as well as the other regulated US markets of Nevada and New Jersey, if the Sheldon Adelson supported Restoration of America’s Wire Act (RAWA) were to pass in Congress. After all, the piece of legislation aims to eliminate most types of online gambling across the US, with online state lottery ticket sales also under threat. As Delaware Lottery director Vernon Kirk said recently, “a lot of nervous lottery people” are currently monitoring progress of the RAWA bill with great interest.