Online poker revenue in Delaware fell 9.6% in December, continuing to point to the need for the launch of its interstate partnership with Nevada.
The Delaware State Lottery released last month’s revenue totals and the sites operated by Delaware Park, Harrington Raceway and Dover Downs took in a collective $28,589 in poker rake and fees. That dropped from the $31,610 revenue total in November.
When comparing December 2014 ipoker revenue to totals posted one year ago, the drop is a whopping 73%. December of 2013 was Delaware’s best month ever for online poker when $106,922 was counted by all three gaming operators.
That was the first full month of Delaware’s online gambling operation after launching early in November 2013. It’s obvious that online poker players turned out to check it out, but have since retreated, likely due to the lack of action offered by a state that has less than one million residents.
We are nearing a year since Nevada and Delaware signed the Multi State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA) last February that will combine online poker player pools for the two states. Industry scuttlebutt has it that the historic interstate launch will get off the ground early in 2015. Delaware certainly could use it.
Online Gambling Falls 4.5 %
When looking at revenue collected by The First State in all online gambling action that includes casino games, video lottery and poker rake, a decrease of 4.5% was realized in December 2014 from the previous month.
The three gaming operators took in a collective $169,606 last month, down from $177,532 in November. That November total was the fourth best month ever in the 14 months recorded thus far.
It’s interesting to note that the best month for online poker revenue in Delaware, the previously mentioned $106,922 in December 2013, made up for 73% of that month’s igaming revenue total of $140,009. One year later, poker makes up for only 17% of all online gambling.
In analyzing the numbers, it’s apparent that Delawareans want to play online poker but are staying away due to lack of liquidity. If you add Nevada to the mix and the roughly 150 average cash game players found at WSOP.com, there’s a good chance that a number of those online poker players in Delaware who tried out the sites a year ago, but eventually left, would return.
Further cause for optimism is the fact that New Jersey has discussed sharing player pools with Nevada, as well as internationally. Once the MSIGA between Delaware and Nevada is put into play, it’s likely that New Jersey will not be far behind in climbing aboard.
