NJ Online Poker Just A Third Of State’s Igaming Revenues In March

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Tuesday, April 15th, 2014 | Written by Shane Larson

When New Jersey introduced online gambling it was hoping the additional revenues generated would help counteract the continuing decline in its land-based casino industry. Five months on and the state Division of Gaming Enforcement has released its latest figures for March which, despite being up 15.2% compared to the previous month, fell significantly short of offsetting Atlantic City’s diminishing casinos revenues.

NJ gambling in March

Atlantic City’s 11 land-based casinos generated $221 million in March, down 7% compared to the previous month, while online gambling recorded a 15.2% rise in revenues to $11.9 million compared to the $10.3 million taken in February. Taken in combination, The Garden State generated $233 million in March 2014, representing a 2% decline from March 2013, in spite of the fact back then there were still 12 casinos operating.

In addition, New Jersey noted an 18% increase in registered players compared to the previous month, with a total of 292,000 residents now with online gambling accounts.

Online gambling up 15% in March

New Jersey’s regulated online casinos generated $11.9 million in revenues for March, an improvement of $1.5 million over the previous month’s tally. From that figure, online casino revenues represented $8.6 million, up from $7.2 million in February, whilst online poker
was relatively flat with $3.2 million in revenues compared to $3.1 million for February.

Currently, New Jersey has six casinos holding online gambling licensees and continuing to hold the market lead is the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, which raked in $4.4 million in March, representing 37% of the market. Commenting on its monthly result, Boyd Gaming CEO Keith Smith, said:

“Borgata has been New Jersey’s land-based gaming leader for more than a decade, and is cementing its position as the state’s online gaming leader as well. We continue to see solid growth in online casino gaming, and are working to further strengthen our poker business.”

NJ Caesars Interactive holds second spot with roughly $3.7 million in March, while Tropicana Atlantic City Casino reported the largest increase in revenues for the month, up an impressive 41% to $1.9 million.

Here are the overall online gambling revenues by company:

Borgata/Party Poker – $4,395,734
Caesars Interactive/888 – $3,716,873
Tropicana/Gamesys – $1,895,826
Trump Taj Mahal/Ultimate Gaming – $682,639
Golden Nugget – $677,746
Trump Plaza/Betfair – $509,556

Online gambling revenues a drop in the ocean

Following March’s online gambling figures being released, Macquarie Capital Inc. analysts Chad Beynon and Jeremy Luskin, said monthly revenue growth equated to around 4% per day and was mostly attributed to new online casino products on offer as opposed to online poker. Commenting on what the online gaming revenues means to the state’s gambling industry as a whole, the analysts explained in a written report:

“Even as geolocation issues have been mostly resolved and platforms are more built out, we still are not seeing the demand necessary to make us believe this will be a meaningful part of the [profit and loss] of regional gaming operators.”

Prospects for next month

For the past few weeks Atlantic City casinos along with their online gambling partners, have relentless been promoting their products through billboards, online advertisements, and direct mail. This should help give NJ’s online gambling figures a boost in April, although there are also a number of other factors which will likely positively affect the state’s igaming revenues this month.

This includes Borgata/Party Poker network’s NJ Championship of Online Poker (NJCOP), and the increase in volume of satellites to gain entry into next month’s World Series Of Poker. Other factors which could lead to an increase in business include the start of the tourist season in New Jersey, as well as an improvement in Geo-location and payment processing methods. As Boyd Gaming CEO Keith Smith, explains:

“Expanding payment processing options for our customers is one of our highest priorities, and we are making good progress in this regard. Earlier this month, Borgata added Neteller, a global online payment solution, as a new payment option for our customers. Boyd Gaming is working diligently to make our online gaming experience as convenient as possible, giving players another reason to continue selecting Borgata over the competition.”

Liquidity sharing becomes more attractive

While online casino games continue to grow and provide the bulk of New Jersey’s online gambling operation, poker has steadily been dropping over the past two months leading some to believe in the future New Jersey might consider more seriously the offer made by Nevada and Delaware to join their liquidity sharing agreement. It has been estimated that joining the interstate compact could automatically boost New Jersey’s player pool by 30%, thus allowing for a more sustainable poker playing environment.