New Jersey posted another big month for the largest regulated US online gaming market.
New Jersey online casinos and poker sites combined to win $20.6 million from gamblers in October, according to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement. This was up 23.4 percent over the previous year. The number was down 2.4 percent from September.
PokerStars, through its Resorts license, continues to hold the number one spot in the New Jersey online poker market. PokerStars raked $781,948 last month. Borgata’s licensees came in second at $626,866 last month, while Caesars was once again in the cellar, at $525,331.
Online poker continues to lag casino games. Poker raked $1.9 million last month. That was down 19.1 percent from the previous year and down 1.6 percent from September.
New Jersey announced last month that it would start permitting sites in its state to accept players from other states that have regulated online poker, as well as licensing outside companies that adhere to its regulatory policies and are licensed in other states.
Currently, this only includes Delaware and Nevada. Those two states share monopoly poker networks. It is WSOP.com in Nevada and Delaware racinos. The pooled liquidity is powered by 888 Casino and has struggled significantly, especially in recent months.
New Jersey Online Casinos Thrive
Online casino games took in $18.6 million, up 30 percent from the previous year and down 2.5 percent from September.
Golden Nugget continues to own the New Jersey online casino market. The group, which includes Betfair, won $6.1 million at its online slots and table games. This is nearly double any other competitor.
As Online Poker Report notes, New Jersey has already beaten 2016 online gaming revenues with two months to go. The state is on pace to take in $250 million. That would account for more than 10 percent of all Atlantic City revenues.
What New Jersey Online Gaming Regulation Does Right
New Jersey has gotten online gaming regulation right from the start. The 17.5 percent tax rate is high enough to generate real revenue for the state while providing a reasonable margin for operators. The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement has gone on record with controversial decisions explaining why it ruled that way. State regulators have not tolerated issues that would damage the industry’s reputation, such as underage and problem gambling.
Atlantic City Gaming Revenues Bounce Around Bottom
Atlantic City continues to show there is still demand gaming in the beach resort, even if it cannot rebound to its earlier boom days.
Atlantic City casinos won $185.8 million in October. That was down 0.3 percent from the previous year. Atlantic City casinos have won $2 billion this year through October 31. That is up 0.3 percent from the previous year. That rises to 8.4 percent when removing Trump Taj Mahal, which shuttered in 2016, from the statistics.
