New Jersey Online Poker Hits Rock Bottom in September 2015

Home » Poker News » New Jersey Online Poker Hits Rock Bottom in September 2015

Tuesday, October 20th, 2015 | Written by Shane Larson

The US regulated iPoker industry continues to disappoint, and following news of Delaware’s lowest revenues to date of $24,523 in September, New Jersey, too, has now seen its iPoker market bottom out, with business down by 15% to $1,771,123 last month, year-over-year. Overall iGaming results, however, were positive, with revenues rising by 17.3% to $12 million compared to September 2014’s tally of $10.2 million. Including land-based casinos, New Jersey collected a total of $230.1 million last month, up 9.9% y-o-y, and commenting on the results a statement released by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE), explained:

“The industry benefited from having all of Labor Day weekend in September 2015, whereas Friday through Sunday of Labor Day weekend 2014 was in August. The industry also experienced strong table game results, up 26.2 percent.”

iPoker All Time Low

September 2015 marked a new all-time low for the Garden state, with the $1,771,123 in revenues generated down 15% from the $2,085,295 collected in September 2014, and beating the previous record low set this June of $1,835,576. There are currently just two operators in the state offering online poker, with Borgata/PartyPoker accounting for $950,410 of revenues last month, and Caesars/888/WOP the remaining $820,813. So far this year, online poker revenues have dropped to $17,961,719 from the $23,159,427 that was generated over the same period in 2014.

With New Jersey’s iPoker industry currently in the gutter, its no wonder the state recently granted PokerStars and Full Tilt an iGaming license, which at least provides a glimmer of hope that superior software and marketing will help raise the profile and popularity of the game.

iGaming Growth Continues

While poker has been in decline since Black-Friday, casino games and slot popularity continues to grow, generating $10,254,566 in September, which combined with iPoker revenues totaled $12,025,779, marking a 17.3% improvement on the $10,248,370 taken in September 2014. Leading the market in terms of revenue was the Borgata ($3,383,174), followed by Caesars ($2,655,925), Tropicana ($2,621,020), Golden Nugget ($2,421,261), and finally Resorts ($944,299). Despite being at the bottom of the pile, Resorts may soon see a reversal in its unenviable position, though, as PokerStars is its official partner in Atlantic City, and commenting on the site’s imminent launch Resorts CEO Mark Giannantonio, said:

“We are confident that the partnership with PokerStars will boost our online gaming activities and help us emerge as the leader in New Jersey’s poker market. With PokerStars approved for licensed online gaming, our players will have the opportunity to experience real-money poker games from the world’s number one poker website.”

For the first nine months of 2015, online gaming revenues have reached $108,749,402, higher by 15.8% from the $93,916,855 collected during the same period last year.

Land Casinos Up 11%

In September, Atlantic City casinos generated $230 million in revenues, with $218 million accounted for by land-based operations, and the remaining $12 million from iGaming. That represents a 10.8% improvement over September 2014, and even when the four shuttered casinos are included in the comparison, revenues were still higher by almost 10%. Commenting on the positive results, New Jersey Casino Control Commission chairman Matt Levinson said:

“The continuing operators took in approximately 11 percent more than in the same month last year. That’s an increase of more than $22 million. Slot revenue was up, table revenue was up, and Internet revenue was up. The numbers also reflect the underlying growth in the market that we have been seeing all year.”

Leading September’s gambling market in terms of growth was Resorts up 31.8% to $15.2 million, followed by the Golden Nugget up 20.9% to $19.6 million, and Caesars up 19.1% to $31 million. Also posting gains was Tropicana up 15.3% to $27 million, Borgata up 13.5% to $66.3 million, and Harrah’s up 1.1% to $31.6 million. On the flipside, the Trump Taj Mahal saw its revenues fall by 4.6% to $16.6 million, while Bally’s business also declined by 4.2% to $18.8 million.

Sports Betting On The Cards?

Finally, New Jersey’s gambling industry could be given a significant boost sometime in the future, following a decision by the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia to grant the state a full hearing concerning its case for legalized sports books at its casinos. New Jersey is challenging the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), a 13 year-old federal law that prohibits sports betting outside the states of Oregon, Delaware, Montana, and Nevada. Although no date has been set for the hearing, it has been suggested that legal arguments could be heard by the end of this year, or at the beginning of 2016.