Call it a comeback, of sorts, as the state of New Jersey has seen a slight increase in revenues in the online poker industry when comparing the October totals to the month of September. In September, the online poker gaming sites of New Jersey were only able to earn $1,771,123 but the very next month, boosted back with an 8% increase after earning $1,913,403 from the iPoker sites.
The big earners for the state were Partypoker NJ and BorgataPoker who earned $1,079,478 for October. WSOP and 888poker NJ were able to earn $833,925. The month of October was not the best during the year, ranking 7th out of the 10 months that have already passed. However, operators were glad to see an increase when compared to last month. Looking back to October 2014, the state had a slight decrease in earnings, making 2.8% less this year.
The two networks of New Jersey will only be competing against each other for a short time frame as PokerStars is expected to begin offering online poker gaming by next year. No set date has been put in place after the September 30th ruling in favor of PokerStars by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, however, based on several reports and items that PokerStars must completed before being able to operate in the state, early 2016 looks good for launch.
It seems as though the launch will be later than anticipated, especially after information was provided by David Baazov, the CEO of Amaya. On Tuesday, a conference call was held and Baazov stated that the launch will not take place until sometime in the first half of next year. Many feel that software testing may be the cause of delay.
Moving to online casino revenues, the state of New Jersey had a huge month for October. The revenues earned created the highest total ever, at $10,950,532 which pushed past March’s big earnings of $10,937,994. Total iGaming revenues for the month of October reached $12,863,935 which is the second highest ever for the state. This was a jump of 7% when compared to September. When looking at year over year in October for total gaming numbers, the increase is actually over 35%, better in 2015.
While everyone is taking a look at the revenue numbers each month, from the state of New Jersey to additional states interested in gaming, the market has continued to flourish. In the beginning, it was unclear as to if the state would be successful but they have proved players interest remains and earnings continue to fluctuate.
The state has done well, even without PokerStars having launched yet. PokerStars should be a big game changer. The brand is one of the most recognizable and respected brands in the online poker industry. With the addition of PokerStars, we may see more players signing up for accounts and beginning to take advantage of online poker game play for real money. PokerStars has the potential to bring a whole new level of game play to the state that should add an extra cushion to the overall revenue totals.
Poker fans are also curious to see if New Jersey will join Delaware and Nevada in the interstate poker with the Multi State Internet Gaming Agreement. It was believed that the state would join in but no movement has been seen year. David Rebuck, the Director of the DGE, did state that interstate poker is an important area for online gaming as well as speaking of international compacts. We will have to wait and see what develops as 2015 comes to an end and the New Year, 2016 begins.