Continuing a downward swing in what should be a time of growth, all three of the states that regulate online gaming and poker – Delaware, Nevada and New Jersey – instead saw their monthly revenues continue to drop.
In Delaware, the online poker segment of their full casino gaming industry only pulled in $28,509 for the month, their lowest figure since earlier this year in June when they only pulled in $25,600. Once the casino gaming action is added into the mix, the combined revenues for the three Delaware sites – Delaware Park, Dover Downs and Harrington Raceway – only pulled in $130,468, slightly down from the $145K that they pulled in over September. The big issue – and one that has plagued Delaware’s industry since their launch – is the lack of numbers in all the games.
For the month of October, the three online operations generated 315 new accounts. Without an influx of new customers (businesses can’t continually rely on those that have or do partake of their business), any business is going to have difficulties with generating revenues. Because of the state’s population (around 900K), those numbers are going to be difficult to raise.
In an apples-to-apples comparison, New Jersey is having similar issues with their full online casino business. Even though they decided to not include figures from Ultimate Gaming (which departed the New Jersey industry in early October after terminating its partnership with the Trump Taj Mahal), the October numbers failed to meet expectations. For online poker, the five remaining rooms in the market dropped under $2 million for the first time. Casino gaming was able to help a bit, bringing in $7.5 million, but those two revenue streams were less than what had been pulled in September.
The five rooms in the New Jersey market have seemingly split themselves along the poker/casino gaming line. Borgata/Bwin.party and Caesars are the major players in the Garden State’s online poker industry while Tropicana/Gamesys, the Golden Nugget and the struggling Trump Plaza/Betfair team rake in their revenues through online casino gaming. Once again, it is the number of available customers that is having an impact on the market; even though the state is ten times the size of Delaware, New Jersey added approximately 24,000 new accounts during the month of October.
The state of Nevada wasn’t able to change the tune for regulated markets in the United States. Continuing what has been a downswing since their apex this summer, the online poker-only market pulled in just $665,000 during the month of October, a 4% drop from its September numbers and a 35% decline since the three online poker sites – Caesars Entertainment’s WSOP.com, Ultimate Gaming’s Ultimate Poker and Real Gaming – pulled in $1.037 million in June.
This may be the final numbers we receive for some time from Nevada as, per its state regulations, there need to be three operating sites for revenues to be reported. Ultimate Gaming’s closure in the middle of November will bring the number of operating sites to two so, if there is to be an announcement, the November numbers will be the last the poker community sees out of the Nevada online poker industry until a new member joins the party.
The puzzling question for all three markets is what is causing the downswing. In the past in the online gaming and poker industry, the time frame from September through March (winter months in the Northern Hemisphere) have always seen an influx of players due to the chillier (and snowier) conditions outside. This doesn’t seem to be the case in the U. S., however, as players aren’t frequenting the regulated sites during the colder weather.
It could be the populations of the three states as pointed out previously, but it could also signify a more significant problem. The sites may be able to bring players in but are unable to keep them once customers have gotten a taste. This may be particularly true in the casino states as players may be looking for a more recreational outlet and are not “steady” customers, as what frequents online poker rooms. In essence, the “casual” player may not be generating the revenues.
Whether these numbers increase over the remainder of the late fall and winter months remains to be seen. But it will be important to show stronger growth in all the markets if other states are to embrace online gaming and poker themselves.