Is Maryland On The Verge Of Overtaking New Jersey's Poker Market?Two States Generate About The Same Rake In February |
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In terms of poker, New Jersey and Maryland were on about equal footing last month. That has not been the case historically.
According to figures released last week by New Jersey gaming regulators, the brick-and-stick card rooms and the online poker sites generated a combined $3.68 million during February. Live poker accounted for $1.91 million, while online brought in $1.77 million.
Internet poker play was down by about $400,000 compared to February 2017, while the live poker revenue was off year-over-year by less than $200,000. Online gamblers in the Garden State have shown that they prefer the house-banked, poker-style games over peer-to-peer, traditional iPoker.
Over in Maryland, where the casinos don’t enjoy regulated online gaming but could one day, the four brick-and-mortar card rooms took in $3.6 million during February, which was basically flat year-over-year. The state’s poker market grew by some 25 percent last year thanks largely to MGM National Harbor unveiling a 39-table room in December 2016. New Jersey’s poker market averaged $4.5 million a month in 2017, compared to about $3.7 million in Maryland.
The problem with a New Jersey intra-state online poker market is that the player pool is not large enough. Same goes for the ones in Nevada and Delaware, even though they share players. Everything could change if more states legalize—Pennsylvania did so in October—and join in with the markets that are already regulated. Online poker also helps live poker.
“The consensus is that traditional poker will not experience any significant growth without a national interactive component to support growth in traditional poker by introducing new players to the game,” said Michael Lawton, Senior Research Analyst for the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
For the foreseeable future, New Jersey’s poker market looks to continue declining, all the while neighboring casino states either grow or at least hold on tight to the existing revenues.
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