This is refreshing news. Online poker revenue increased in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware from June to July. It may have done the same in Nevada, but that state doesn’t make that information public. And Michigan might have experienced online poker growth, too, but they don’t break it out from the entirety of igaming. But good news is good news, and we’ll take it.
Year-on-year numbers for July were not great, but that is to be expected. At this time last year, most land-based casinos and card rooms remained shuttered by the pandemic, and online poker was thriving around the world – even in our little United States market. There was always a hope that online poker could maintain its 2020 gains, but that hope wasn’t very realistic.
All of the igaming sectors in Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Michigan gained traction from June to July. It was a good month all around.
Let’s take a look at those numbers.
Delaware: July 2021
This little market is still finding its way in the post-pandemic world. And it had a strange July, per the numbers from the Delaware Lottery. Video lottery numbers were surprisingly down quite a lot from the previous month, but online poker was up from July. The yearly numbers seem to be in line with the trend and bucked the previous month’s all-around downswing.
The big video lottery dip dragged the entire monthly number down, despite a huge rise in new online account registrations. That is two months in a row that the igaming sector revenue fell.
For some reason, the number of new registrations jumped up 38% from June to July, though those type of fluctuations have become more commonplace in 2021. Even year-on-year registrations increased by 42.4%.
Michigan: July 2021
There is no way to determine the success of online poker in Michigan, as there is no breakout from the rest of the online gaming sector. What we do know is the bottom line for igaming each month. And since it only launched this year, there are no yearly comparisons.
What we do know is that a brief dip last month turned itself around this month, at least partially. March still stands as the year’s high for total gross receipts, though May topped all months for adjusted gross receipts. .
Total adjusted gross receipts came the closest to recovering its 25.7% dip last month with a 25.6% gain in July.
After state tax payments dropped 24.3% from May to June, they started a healthy rebound in July with a 24.5% increase to more than $17M.
Nevada: July 2021
Nevada has not and does not report its online poker revenue. They will be required to do so if and when three or more sites operate in Nevada, but currently, the WSOP is the only state-licensed online site in that state.
New Jersey: July 2021
Online poker experienced its greatest growth in years during the 2020 pandemic. Since then, it went back to its days of a fairly consistent downswing…until July. Online poker jumped a significant amount from June to July.
--July 2021 internet poker win: $3,072,756--June 2021 internet poker: $2,209,374--July 2020 internet poker: $4,818,561Month-on-month: 39.1% increaseYear-on-year: 36.2% decrease
In fact, all areas of New Jersey’s igaming sector climbed in July. Online slots and table games increased revenue year-on-year as well. All in all, the games worked together to show great gains in July.
--July 2021 internet gaming win: $118,685,095--June 2021 internet gaming: $107,059,938--July 2020 internet gaming: $87,492,952Month-on-month: 10.9% increaseYear-on-year: 35.7% increase
Sports wagering revenue fell nearly 23% from June to July, but that didn’t slow down the full gambling market in the state. It rose 14.7% from the previous month and 70.4% on the year with $450,551,514 on the books.
Pennsylvania: July 2021
After a strange June that saw the entire igaming sector down for the month, July tried to bring some of it back. Online poker tried to do its part, actually boosting its revenue for the month. Interestingly, all of the previously-launched sites in Pennsylvania showed decreased revenue for July, but the introduction of WSOP.com via Harrah’s Philadelphia delivered some freshness.
--July 2021 internet poker revenue: $2,596,418--June 2021 internet poker: $2,417,679--July 2020 internet poker: $2,986,498Month-on-month: 7.4% increaseYear-on-year: 13.1% decrease
The opposite happened for the whole of igaming, as the monthly revenue dipped slightly but year-on-year did the opposite. The monthly decreases seemed to focus on the 12.2% decrease for igaming tables, as igaming slots actually went up 4.6%. The annual growth, though, was significant.
Sports betting took an unusual slide downward in July, showing a 28% handle decrease from June to July and 42% revenue decrease. But the year-on-year revenue improved by more than 143%.
The entire Pennsylvania gambling market hit a record high in July. This included all land-based and online gambling, plus video gaming terminals and fantasy contests. The total July revenue was $423,657,956, up 49.68% on the year and 8.9% from the previous month. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is the proud parent of a new state gambling revenue record.
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