PokerStars NJ, Zoom Poker, and a Possible UK Sharing Agreement

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Tuesday, July 12th, 2016 | Written by Charles Washington

After a protracted battle to gain a New Jersey iGaming license, PokerStars finally entered the market in March, with the well-known poker operator subsequently rolling out its Zoom Poker product in early June. Historically, fast-fold poker formats haven’t fared well in the Garden State, and many industry experts believe that this is due to the constraints of the state’s limited population size. Still, based on the numbers out after the initial Zoom Poker launch, it seems that PokerStars has the potential for a winner in New Jersey. In addition, the news this week of a possible liquidity sharing agreement with the UK could also help provide a significant further boost to the state’s poker playing traffic.

The Good and Bad News for Zoom Poker

When Zoom Poker launched, it was with low stakes of $.05/$.10, but PokerStars quickly expanded the stakes to also include $.01/$.02, $.25/$.50 and $1 $2 offerings. Game-play is six-handed with rake rates that match those of other games. After its initial opening, the state of the game is as follows:

– The $.05/$.10 stakes tables are doing fairly well. In the afternoon, there are usually about 30 to 40 people playing, and during prime time hours, the average player pool is around 60.

– The $.01/$.02 stakes stables are seeing some traffic but not performing as well as the $.05/.10 stakes tables.

– The $.25/$.50 stakes tables have not performed well, which is surprising as this stakes level is performing well elsewhere on PokerStars.

– The $1/$2 stakes table are not raising player interest, but with the small player pool this is to be expected.

The Future of Zoom Poker

Party/Borgata also offers fast fold poker play, but even with the game much more well established than Zoom Poker, their stats are not nearly as impressive. The fact that Zoom Poker has managed to get some traction for any of their tables is a win for PokerStars.

Some industry experts wonder if PokerStars will continue to offer the game, though, because it isn’t performing as well as other games on the site. Others believe that Zoom Poker is likely to remain among the site’s offerings because the format is doing fairly well in New Jersey despite this being a slow season for online poker overall. Plus, Zoom Poker has proven to be a success in Spain, France and Italy. Those who believe Zoom Poker is here to stay feel that fast-fold poker is still relatively new to the market and that interest in the game is only likely to increase.

PokerStars Is on the Rise

When you look at the big picture, it’s clear that PokerStars is on the path toward real success in New Jersey. The site’s average traffic increased 18 percent from May 31 to June 7, and PokerStars has managed to maintain an average liquidity of around 130 players. Based on the numbers, it’s evident that PokerStars is doing an excellent job of attracting players and is on pace to become a fierce competitor in the New Jersey online poker industry.

UK Sharing Agreement?

This week, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) announced that it had reached a tentative online poker liquidity sharing agreement with the UK Gambling Commission. With just 9 million people, New Jersey’s iPoker market has too few players to reach its true potential, but pooling its players with a country that has the same population as California, New York and Pennsylvania combined has the potential to be a huge game-changer for the Garden State.

“We’re very serious about this,” explained DGE Director David Rebuck, “and we want to move it along as quickly as possible so iGaming in New Jersey will continue the impressive growth we’ve shown over the last 15 months.”

With the latest development in mind, the DGE recently contacted a number of operators already active in the state to gauge their views on the issue, including 888 Holdings, GVC, PokerStars, Gamesys, and Betfair. While not all the operators currently offer online poker, Rebuck indicated that any potential agreement could be expanded to also include casino games. Nevertheless, a lot of work has to be done before any such deal ever becomes reality, and as Rebuck further explains:

“Still have to figure out lots of issues: specific regulations, how the tax rate from each jurisdiction would be applied, player ID and geo-location issues, and other things we probably haven’t even considered yet.”