New Jersey Online Gambling Revenue Hits New High

August 17th, 2016 | by Kaycee James

New Jersey’s online gambling industry reached new heights in July according to the latest revenue report from state’s Division of Gaming Enforcement.

New Jersey iGaming revenue on the up but liquidity sharing pacts still seem like a distant dream. (Image: picturesofmoney.org)

Released on August 12, the new figures show that July’s overall takings were the largest since the iGaming industry was regulated in New Jersey three years ago.

In total the state’s online casino and poker sites raked $17.4 million which is 38.6% higher than the same period in 2015. Not only that but that figure is $400,000 more than the previous high of $17 million recorded in April of this year.

Poker Improving at a Slower Pace

For poker sites specifically, $2.1 million in revenue represented a 6.7 percent year-on-year increase while casino revenue hit $15.3 million for a 44.2 percent year-on-year improvement.

Looking at the stats on a month-to-month basis, poker remained stagnant despite PokerStars’ new platform starting to mature into the market space. But, despite the lack of growth over a four-week period, New Jersey’s overall performance this year has been impressive.

While the state is still performing way below the outlandish predictions made by Governor Chris Christie back in 2013 (he predicted it would be making $1 billion+ annually by now), things are on the up.

As a whole, the first seven months of the year have shown a 32.8 percent jump in revenue to $112.2 million. Of that total, poker has contributed $15.7 million which represents a 10.8 increase on 2015.

Of course, while the numbers may make for pleasant reading right now, the industry still has a long way to go if it wants to match the buoyancy of international markets.

Sharing Still an Aspiration

As ever, liquidity sharing pacts have been touted as the way for New Jersey and other states to improve their fortunes, but as yet nothing has materialized.

A recent article on app.com, a subsidiary of Asbury Park Press, discussed a possible deal with Pennsylvania. A neighboring state to New Jersey, Pennsylvania Legislature recently passed a budget that suggested iGaming revenue would hit $100 million in year one.

If this is the case and if a bill to regulate the industry is approved by the Senate later this year, then New Jersey regulators have said that there is a strong possibility of a liquidity sharing pact being formed.

A deal like this would certainly bolster the Garden State’s current selection of poker platforms, but that’s only if it happens.

State regulators have continually said that they are open to liquidity sharing deals, even with countries such as the UK, but so far there has been little positive movement.

Fortunately, even if these deals are taking longer to implement than expected, the state’s iGaming fortunes are still moving in the right direction.