Is New Jersey Online Poker in Trouble?
Declining revenues, political unrest and a lack of progress in sharing player pools with other jurisdictions does not bode well for online poker in New Jersey.
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Revenues from online poker in the state of New Jersey hit an all-time low in October. Falling below the $2 million mark for the first time since its inception, online poker revenues are declining during the period in which the global market traditionally sees an upswing.
Revenues from online poker in the state of New Jersey hit an all-time low in October. Falling below the $2 million mark for the first time since its inception, online poker revenues are declining during the period in which the global market traditionally sees an upswing.
With less than a year under its belt, it is difficult to say whether the reported revenues in the New Jersey market will follow along the same lines as the global market, but a declining market is nonetheless not a good sign.
Industry pundits suspect that the addition of PokerStars to the New Jersey online poker market would have an overall positive effect by renewing interest with a fresh marketing budget and reinvigorating the player base. However, what was thought to be a November launch is now delayed until 2015, according to sources close to the situation.
Speculation as to the cause of the delay has been fueled by New Jersey State Sen. Raymond Lesniak who on multiple occasions has taken to social media to point the finger directly at Gov. Chris Christie.
@ridenomore Christie just giving Adelson time during Congressional lame duck session to kill Egaming— Senator Ray Lesniak (@SenatorLesniak) November 11, 2014
As we look forward to the New Jersey market expanding, it is critical to note that the state just suffered its first online poker room casualty last month when ultimate poker closed its doors. Since the beginning, the room has struggled to gain traction in the New Jersey market, never accumulating more than the 3% market share it captured in its first month.
New Jersey has also not made any progress in terms of forming interstate compacts with its US igaming brethren. Nevada and Delaware have entered into such an agreement, and are expected to begin sharing player pools as soon as early 2015.
If a considerable increase in traffic results from the increased liquidity, New Jersey may be forced to consider joining forces with Nevada and Delaware. Though it sees itself as the future hub of igaming in the US, and in some cases the world, its lackluster revenue figures have been less than encouraging to other states to take the political risk of regulating igaming with the promise of a financial windfall.
