Revenue from Delaware’s Internet poker scheme fell drastically in June to its lowest point since launch with net proceeds of only $25,607.
That’s down from $57,468 in May, about a 55% decrease month-to-month. May was the previous lowest month in online poker revenue, making two consecutive months that online poker in Delaware has hit new lows. Decreases in Internet poker revenue have been posted for three straight months, the Delaware Lottery reported.
The warmer summer months have typically seen less online poker action industry-wide as players tend to find activities outdoors as opposed to playing online poker. Some of The First State’s decrease can surely be attributed to seasonal tendencies. Also, a number of regular players likely made their way to Las Vegas for the month to compete at the World Series of Poker.
However, it remains quite apparent that Delaware’s Internet poker regime is not viable in its current intrastate model due to the state’s tiny population. State officials were well aware of that fact before launching.
On the horizon is the [geolink href=”https://www.usafriendlypokersites.com/nevada-delaware-compact-may-game-changer/”]interstate online poker partnership brokered with Nevada[/geolink] that will eventually launch and provide increased liquidity for both states. The idea is to get even more states to become part of the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement in the future and the odds of that plan being realized are good.
In the meantime and until that happens, we can expect ipoker revenue numbers to be less than stellar in Delaware. The novelty of playing regulated online poker has seemingly vanished. And coupled with a tiny pool of possible players, it appears that Delawareans have turned away from the virtual felt.
But it is not all gloom and doom in Delaware’s online gambling regime. Revenue that includes online poker, casino games and the video lottery actually rose in the month of June.
The state pulled in $187,944, a 7% increase from the $175,410 realized from the previous month. May was the first month since November that online gambling revenue was lower than the month before, so it’s encouraging to see that Delaware is back on track when all Internet gaming offerings are considered.
Another positive sign is that of new player registrations. June saw 399 Delawareans open new igaming accounts, an increase from the 342 new players in May. New sign-ups had been decreasing each month since launch until June managed to buck the trend.
While anti-online gambling activists such as the Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling will be quick to point out that online poker is on the decline in Delaware, it must be remembered that regulated online poker and gambling is still relatively new in the U.S. Growing pains were to be expected. In that regard, Delaware is right on course.
