The state of New Jersey is leading all others in the US in earning the highest revenues from online gambling. This is not to be attributed to an increasing number of casinos or gamblers, although online casinos are plenty in the state, but to the structures that the state has put in place to ensure transparency in the sector. It is, definitely, impressive that gambling revenues should increase at a time when poker revenues, which constitute a big part of gambling revenues, had gotten a little destabilized.
Online Gambling High despite the Scotching Heat
New Jersey has recently been experiencing raised temperatures, beating the levels that residents and visitors anticipated, yet fans of online gambling have still managed to keep casinos flourishing. The month of January, just for example, saw casinos generating gross revenues of $12,478,841. That was the climax of great success experienced by New Jersey casinos for six consecutive months. Yet that climax was not the ceiling. The climate for online gambling in New Jersey has only become better, and February’s gross revenues from casinos beat those of January, reaching $12,755,555.
Online Poker Still a Significant Earner
The fact that revenues from online poker have dropped does not mean that online poker revenues are not significant. For four consecutive months, online poker progressively grossed its revenues, even reaching $2 million a month. However, the instability in poker revenues was being viewed as significant because February saw the progress that was being made come to a halt, and online poker revenues only totaled $1,994,065, which was a 7.3% drop from January. Of course a figure of $1.9 million is still a respectable figure coming from online poker alone, but the state, obviously, hoped that the reverse trend did not persist.
Luckily, the drop in February online poker revenues was reversed last month, thanks to the establishment of PokerStars within the state. Gross revenues from online poker in the month of March totaled $2.46 million, according to the statistics provided by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE). The state is looking at this sector with optimism, especially considering that of the $2.46 million earned from online poker in March, a good $598,000 came from PokerStars.
Pokerstars Boosting Poker Revenues
Even as New Jersey earned a good portion of March poker revenues from PokerStars, the poker host had only been in full operation within the state for only the last third of the month. The popularity of PokerStars was noted immediately its operations resumed in the US. On its very first day of operation, PokerStars managed to beat its competitors, looking at things from the perspective of player liquidity. Today, its success has even superseded that of Party-Borgata as well as that of WSOP-888. This is clear when one checks out regular traffic rankings. Many poker analysts are waiting in bated breath for the April poker revenues, in order to see how the market share of various poker competitors is being affected by the entry of PokerStars into the arena. Many poker pundits are particularly eager to see how Party-Borgata’s portion is being affected.
Even with its opening success, PokerStars is not about to sit on its laurels. Plans are underway for it to host a Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) tournament, well customized for the state of New Jersey. It is anticipated that this tournament will influence many poker enthusiasts to shift loyalties from elsewhere to PokerStars. Irrespective of where the loyalties of online poker players end up, all signs point towards New Jersey continuing to reap increased revenues from the gambling sector, and particularly the online gambling arena. The competition that PokerStars has brought in can only help the industry.