New Jersey online gambling on the rise

Big Six Figures

The figures are culled from the six largest operators, which are in descending order of top market size: Borgata, which is partnered with PartyGaming; Caesars/WSOP, partnered with 888; Tropicana, partnered with Virgin; Golden Nugget; Trump Plaza, partnered with Betfair; and Trump Taj Mahal, partnered with Ultimate Poker.

The lion's share of income was taken in by Borgata’s 52% and Caesars/WSOP’s 47%, with Trump Taj Mahal generating the remaining 1% of revenue, at $23,099 in rake which represents the final 1%. The Taj percentage is not expected to hold in light of the casino’s recent filing for bankruptcy protection.

In terms of online gambling revenue alone, a sixth player in the New Jersey market, Tropicana, is posting the most significant gains. Despite not offering online poker, Trop AC ranked second overall in online gambling take in August online take and third in net profit among the Big Six, with a total take of $2.26 million in August representing 27.2% of the New Jersey's online-casino revenue and 21.4% of the state's online gambling profits.

Addressing the Primary Hurdle

State revenues are currently capped by legal limitations on player pools to those residing within each individual states and on prize pools and cash game options that operators can offer.

Positive signs for New Jersey include last week's announcement tweeted by New Jersey state Sen. Ray Lesniak that PokerStars is expected to resume operations in a matter of “weeks, not months,” which would activate new players and increase play volume from existing players.

More help is expected from improved payment processing and geolocation; dual broadcasts of the WSOP on ESPN and November's completion of the World Series of Poker Main Event final table; and adaptation of gaming software to global market requirements.

Progress will be benchmarked as a product of the recent emergency summit called by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie calling for gaming industry stakeholders in Atlantic City to apply a series of “short-term fixes and long-term action items.” In mid-October attendees will reconvene to assess progress and continue brainstorming.