Online poker in the United States spiked by significant margins during the coronavirus pandemic. The huge spikes were reported when all live rooms were shut down as from early spring. That has dipped slightly in recent months, including another slide downward in September. There may be a decline in the revenue numbers last month, but overall, there is growth in online casino gaming.
Brick and mortar or over-the-counter poker rooms have also been reopening throughout New Jersey, especially in the northeast. This could also count for the drop in monthly poker numbers.
NJ Numbers Down in September
The revenue reports by the NJDGE (NJ Division of Gaming Enforcement) revealed poker operators in the US brought in 2.5 million dollars in September. That is a decline from the 3.1 million dollars in August. The revenue reports also showed a continued slide from a record-high of 5.1 million dollars increase in April when the poker rooms were closed.
New Jersey online poker has seen a record-breaking 55.8 percent growth year over year. New Jersey currently has 3 online poker operators:
• Partypoker US Network
• PokerStars
• WSOP.com/888poker
WSOP.com has maintained its lead in the industry in September, with more than 1 million dollars for the month. The operator’s I million dollars revenue is down from 1.3 million dollars in August. WSOP.com partners with Caesars Interactive Entertainment in New Jersey. It is currently the only regulated online poker site in the U.S., and it shares liquidity among Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware with 888poker.
Even though Partypoker US Network (along with the BetMGM skins and Borgatapoker.com) took second place for the month of September, the company recorded some early success. Partypoker showed an increase in revenue month over month, enabling it to move to second place from third.
The revenue of the company was up from 750,126$ in August to 781,912$ in September. The operator partnered with another popular operator, the World Poker Tour, in September, for the Online Borgate Series. It is this combined effort that helped see an increase in the revenue for the month.
PokerStars reported 767,272$ in revenue in September. This was down from 971,811$ in August and 1.1 million dollars in July. Often finishing in second, the site is looking forward to rebounding in October. The site is banking on the big online poker events that are lined up in NJ.
The NJCOOP (New Jersey Championship of Online Poker) is underway. It began on October 10 and is scheduled to run up to October 25, with about 54 events and a 1 million dollar guarantee.
The Return of Live Poker
After months of closure, poker rooms are now ready to open. Recently, Borgata stated it would be opening live poker soon. Even though poker rooms still remain closed in Atlanta City, Governor Phil Murphy canceled his executive order he had issued earlier and gave the go-ahead for Atlantic City casinos to reopen soon.
The general growth of New Jersey’s online casino gaming has not been deterred by the return of live poker rooms in Atlantic City. In September, NJ reported impressive revenue numbers, bringing in 87.6 million dollars. The total revenue represented about a 113 percent year-over-year increase.
