NJ Online Casino Revenue Hits High as Poker Hits Low

The New Jersey internet gaming market is generally a success story, one that continues to bring good news month after month, year after year.

Online casino revenue, including slots and table games, rises significantly every month. The November 2019 statistics from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement show one of the largest increases to date as this sector of the industry hit yet another record high.

The downside is the online poker piece of the pie. Online poker revenue has been dropping regularly for the better part of two years, and November brought it to a new low. The revenue is the lowest in the six years of online gambling history in New Jersey.

The details provide a better perspective.

November Online Poker Revenue

Last month, online poker dipped slightly. November took the revenue numbers to an entirely new low.

–November 2019 online poker win:  $1,492,494

–October 2019 online poker win:  $1,640,329

–November 2018 online poker win:  $1,561,639

—Month-on-month:  9.0% decrease

—Year-on-year:  4.4% decrease

This low happened despite significant online poker tournament series in November. The PokerStars New Jersey Championship of Online Poker (NJCOOP) helped that operator’s numbers somewhat, but the WSOP Fall Online Championships did not help WSOP/888 in the same way.

November Online Casino Games Revenue

Performing on par with its massive growth over the months and years, the online casino game sector – excluding online poker – soared to new heights.

–November 2019 online casino games win:  $47,645,412

–October 2019 online casino games win:  $43,574,226

–November 2018 online casino games win:  $25,382,434

—Month-on-month:  9.3% increase

—Year-on-year:  87.7% increase

Once again, the monthly revenue set a new record high, something that seemed to happen quite frequently in 2018 and 2019. The sector is far from reaching any type of plateau.

Total Internet Gaming Win

When the outstanding casino games revenue is put with the online poker number, the overall growth is still nothing less than impressive.

–November 2019 total internet gaming win:  $49,137,906

–October 2019 total internet gaming win:  $45,214,555

–November 2018 total internet gaming win:  $26,944,073

—Month-on-month:  8.7% increase

—Year-on-year:  82.4% increase

The October internet gaming year-over-year win showed 69% growth, up from 59.3% the month before and 65.7% in August. The latest 82.4% increase is high, even considering the pattern.

Final quick thought on the NJ online gambling numbers. With one month left in the year, NJ online gambling will come in at just under a half-billion-dollars for the year. That's a mind-boggling number – more than 4x what it produced in 2014

— Steve Ruddock (@SteveRuddock) December 12, 2019

Sports Betting Slowing Slightly

While there had been several months of growth for sports betting revenue, notably from June forward, the increase of 22.5% from September to October was the end of that rise. Even so, the yearly increase was solid.

–November 2019 sports betting win:  $32,895,546

–October 2019 sports betting win:  $46,393,537

–November 2018 sports betting win:  $21,243,073

—Month-on-month:  29.1% decrease

—Year-on-year:  54.8% increase

Sports betting, combined with online poker and casino games, along with land-based casinos, delivered total November 2019 revenue of $305,977,174, up 18.9% from the previous year.

New Jersey online casino/poker (mostly casino) generated $49.1 million in November. Sportsbooks (online and retail) added another $32.9 million. NJ keeps posting some really impressive numbers.

— Steve Ruddock (@SteveRuddock) December 12, 2019

New Jersey Online Poker Needs Help

Last month, it became more evident than ever that the online poker market in New Jersey must be share player pools with other states to survive. The significant numbers from PokerStars’ first month of online poker in the new Pennsylvania market showed what a larger state could bring to the mix.

There are obstacles, however.

First, PokerStars remains the only online poker site available in Pennsylvania, and no other operator has even hinted to an online poker launch yet.

Second, PokerStars will only be able to connect with its sister site in New Jersey, as it has no presence in Nevada or Delaware. And it seems that West Virginia won’t be launching its online poker and gambling market until 2021. The only operator that has the potential to offer online poker in all states in the new US market is WSOP/888, but it has yet to indicate its plans for Pennsylvania.

Third, there have been no indications of talks between the governors’ offices of New Jersey and Pennsylvania about signing an interstate online gaming agreement. There may not be much advanced notice of a deal, but it is unlikely that those discussions are in progress yet.

Successful online poker in the United States has a long way to go. It doesn’t help that the online poker sector of the internet gaming market in New Jersey has essentially been forgotten and/or ignored.