The little online gambling market in Delaware – often overlooked – finished its second quarter of 2020 with numbers it couldn’t have anticipated. While June internet gaming revenue was down from May, the full quarter shows the power of the online gaming sector in the state.
Revenue numbers from March, April, and May soared beyond almost every previous month in the half-dozen years of operation. The Delaware Lottery did report a settling of the numbers in June, due to the reopening of the land-based venues after months of pandemic-induced shutdowns. However, June’s numbers show that some of the momentum from the past few months may stick around.
Speaking of sticking around, the Delaware Lottery announced earlier this month that it extended its partnership with 888 for online poker and casino games. The company has provided that platform since the igaming launch in 2013. The new agreement extends their deal for another two years.
https://twitter.com/Gamingpost_In/status/1280837181968461824?s=20
Let’s get into a breakdown of the revenue for online poker and all of the igaming in Delaware in 2020.
Online Poker Settles Seriously in June
The month of May for online poker was unprecedented. It was a fantastic month for online poker action and the third month in a row of significant growth.
June, however, stopped online poker in its tracks.
While the revenue still far exceeded its pre-Covid monthly totals, it was disappointing to see it drop so harshly, by more than $62.7%. The disappointment was all the harsher on the heels of a March monthly growth of nearly 87%, followed by nearly 48% in April and nearly 12% more in May. It would be ingenuous to say the June dip didn’t hurt.
One obvious reason is that land-based gambling properties began reopening. Another reason may pertain to online poker players traveling to New Jersey to play in larger tournaments, especially in preparation for the July WSOP 2020 Online. Since the series is not playable from Delaware, serious poker players may have headed for the New Jersey border. This is more likely to have an effect on the July numbers in a larger way.
Even so, the year-on-year growth remains very solid.
--January 2020 online poker rake/fees: $31,279.77 (up 40% from 2019)--February 2020: $30,870.96 (up 21.8% from 2019)--March 2020: $57,689.50 (up 123.7% from 2019)--April 2020: $84,033.67 (up 276% from 2019)--May 2020: $93,973.39 (up 329% from 2019)--June 2020: $57,742.58 (up 141% from 2019)
Internet Gaming Sector Dips Below $1M in June
The May jump put the whole of internet gaming in Delaware over $1.1 million for the month, a substantial reward in the time of coronavirus for a state that believed in igaming.
The entirety of the sector did drop below $1 million in June, but it wasn’t a very steep decline. Despite land-based gambling establishments reopening in June, many players still chose to play online, whether at the poker tables, casino table games, or video lottery games.
And the year-on-year jump was massive. The “little market that could” is doing better than ever.
--January 2020 iGaming net: $387,865.46 (up 38.7% from 2019)--February 2020: $324,957.62 (up 18.3% from 2019)--March 2020: $514,959.34 (up 78.3% from 2019)--April 2020: $856,181.94 (up 225.3% from 2019)--May 2020: $1,134,900.04 (up 261.8% from 2019)--June 2020: $964,606.96 (up 275% from 2019)
New Registrations Down in June
It seems that new account registrations hit a peak in April, as the number then fell in May and again in June. Even so, the increase from the previous year remains impressive.
--January 2020 registrations: 468 (down 19% from 2019)--February 2020: 431 (down 9.8% from 2019)--March 2020: 930 (up 92.9% from 2019)--April 2020: 1,410 (up 288.4% from 2019)--May 2020: 993 (up 186.2% from 2019)--June 2020: 881 (up 163.8% from 2019)
Quarterly Numbers Show Clear YoY Growth
Since the end of June was the half-year mark for the Delaware Lottery’s annual revenue distributions, it’s a good time to compare a few numbers.
Obviously, the coronavirus pandemic created a unique opportunity for online gambling to grow. But some of that growth will likely stay long beyond the quarantines and limited social activities of 2020.
The first comparisons look at poker only:
--1st quarter 2020: $119,840.23 (up 62.85% from Q1 2019)--2nd quarter 2020: $235,749.64 (up 245.4% from Q2 2019)
And then for the entire internet gaming sector:
1st quarter 2020: $1,227,782.42 (up 45.65% from Q1 2019)2nd quarter 2020: $2,955,688.94 (up 254.4% from Q2 2019)
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