MGM Brand Launches New Jersey Gambling Sites

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Saturday, August 19th, 2017 | Written by Charles Washington

Ever since the launch of playMGM using the famous and familiar MGM brand name, as well as playMGMpoker and playMGMcasino, the New Jersey online gambling market has become a little more competitive. Residents from all over the state had anxiously been awaiting the launch of these sites since an announcement was made three months ago that MGM had partnered with partypoker’s GVC Holdings, with the process having now been successfully completed this month in one smooth transition.

MGM/GVC Partnership

These two companies already have a standing history in the Garden State with the MGM operated and owned Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa having used the GVC platform for its online poker and online casino sites for many years now. MGM, along with the Boyd Gaming corporation, once was a 50/50 owner of the venue, but last year the company bought the portion that Boyd owned in order to become its sole owner. On August 1st, playMGM subsequently launched the soft phase of its site prior to the online gambling website’s full release.

MGM Boosting its Poker Offering

What makes this an intriguing development, besides the big brand name, is the fact that this means that MGM is ready to compete against itself in the Garden State. This is because the Party Borgata network (BorgataPoker.com, nj.PartyPoker.com) is an already established part of New Jersey’s online gambling market, as well as another online casino site that is operated by the Borgata. Even so, maybe the main idea behind the playMGM move is to help its poker vertical in particular, as Party Borgata was once the leader of the New Jersey market, but since its partnership with 888poker and the World Series of Poker, as well as PokerStar’s entry into the market, Borgata is not really doing so well anymore and currently sits in third place among the various online gambling operators. Consider the numbers: PokerStars has a weekly average of 130 cash game players in the Garden State, while 888poker has 110, and Borgata a mere 80 cash game players over a 7-day period..

Exciting Development

Commenting on the launch of its new products, Corey Sanders, Chief Operating Office of MGM Resorts International, explained:

“We are thrilled to be entering the online gaming landscape in New Jersey with the expansion of our playMGM.com platform to include both casino and poker games. The ability to effectively bring Las Vegas to New Jersey via an online experience is an exciting undertaking, especially as we continue to develop our presence on the East Coast with the recent acquisition of Borgata, the opening of MGM National Harbor and the pending 2018 opening of MGM Springfield in Massachusetts.”

Immediate Liquidity

PlayMGMpoker will be integrated into the Party Borgata network since it is using partypoker’s platform to currently run its sites. In the process, this will help playMGM by providing it with immediate liquidity, even if the players that are coming do not directly or technically belong to playMGM themselves. The move will also help the brand to enhance the recognition and familiarity it already enjoys in New Jersey further.

While these hypothetical players mentioned would likely be those people who had not already been engaged in New Jersey’s online poker industry to date, MGM would also be hoping to siphon off players from came from its main competitors, such as 888poker and Pokerstars. What will be the ultimate outcome of MGM and partypoker’s GVC Holdings joining forces is hard to predict, but gaming analysts seem united in their opinion and speculation that it can only be a positive development for the two companies.

iGaming Higher in July

In the meantime, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement was released its financial results for July, revealing an 18.5 % revenue increase to $20.6 million compared to the $17.4 million collected in the same month in 2016. Breaking the figures down further, the online casino vertical saw its revenue spike by 21% to $18.6 million, although online poker noted a slight 0.2% drop off in its business to $2 million.

Consequently, New Jersey’s online gambling revenue has now reached $142 million for the first seven months of 2017, representing a 26.6% improvement for the same period last year. Furthermore, at its current pace of around $20 million per month, the industry could have generated $240 million in revenue by the year’s end.

The Garden State first launched its regulated online gambling market in November of 2013, with the $3.6 million in tax revenue collected for July completing $108.1 million in taxes for the state since legalization. Commenting on the impressive performance, gaming analyst Steve Ruddock, explained:

“Stuffing state and local coffers with over $100 million in tax revenue [since it was approved in November 2013] certainly drops the curtain on any lingering revenue concerns. While states such as Pennsylvania drag their feet on legalizing online gaming, companies of all stripes are flocking to the Jersey Shore to grab a piece of the online gaming action.”