BetMGM Poker NJ had a banner year in 2021 and is already optimistic about 2022, showing no plans of slowing down. All three online poker operators in the Garden State had moments to be proud of last year, but as they each look back and evaluate the 12 months just gone, it is BetMGM who will be most pleased with what it has achieved.
The three poker rooms on the Borgata license — BetMGM NJ, partypoker NJ, and Borgata NJ — remained third in revenue for virtually the whole of 2020, and for much of that time, it was a distant third.
BetMGM NJ did enjoy a spike in numbers at the start of lockdown, but nowhere near the level enjoyed by rivals PokerStars and WSOP. After losing ground at such a pivotal time, the operator spent the rest of the year playing catch-up.
- Up to $75 in MTT tickets on top of the bonus
- Frequent MTT series with good guarantees
- Combined player pools in Michigan and New Jersey
However, catch up is precisely what BetMGM Poker NJ did. From August through November 2020, the operator spent three months neck and neck with Stars. A spectacular December saw BetMGM leapfrog PokerStars and come within a hair’s breadth of taking the lead in NJ.
BetMGM Continues to Grow in NJ
WSOP grossed $1,174,943 that month with BetMGM snapping at its heels at $1,071,071. PokerStars was a distant third at $774,039. In four months, BetMGM had completely turned its fortunes around in New Jersey, setting the pattern to come for the next 12 months.
Throughout most of 2021, BetMGM remained a comfortable second in the state — running WSOP close for top spot in January.
It did the same again in March, when the hugely successful partypoker US Network Series doubled its overall guarantee — generating $711,609 of the month’s $957,375 total.
The $1060 Main Event alone brought in $464,000 — a truly astonishing figure for a single tournament in New Jersey.
The next few months stayed largely the same. WSOP took a huge lead in July, thanks mainly to its online bracelet series, but the boost from this was short-lived and revenue in August immediately returned to pre-series levels.
The WSOP downswing continued in September, coinciding with another partypoker US Network Series. This time, the boost in numbers was enough to take BetMGM NJ and its sister sites ahead of WSOP and into top spot — for the first time since April 2016, when PokerStars first entered the market.
BetMGM NJ had gone from last place in the jurisdiction, to market leader — in just over a year. In July 2020, its market share was a paltry 17.5%; 14 months later, that figure had more than doubled. Market share in September 2021 was up to 40%.
New Challenges on the Horizon
It is a remarkable achievement by any standards. To accomplish it in such a short timeframe is doubly impressive. But taking the lead is one thing — keeping it is quite another. Rivals such as WSOP and PokerStars were never going to go down without a fight.
BetMGM Poker NJ held onto first place for two months before WSOP reclaimed the spot. BetMGM rallied in December to leave the two in almost identical positions. Meanwhile, PokerStars also improved, leaving the three operators as close as they have been for years.
However, the trio’s biggest challenge might not be each other. A general downturn in online poker may prove to be more damaging. It was the tenth straight month where overall revenue in NJ fell — and figures for December were down 23% year-over-year.
That said, it is hard to draw concrete conclusions from a period as volatile as the last two years. Despite the recent decline, revenue was still up 35% on December 2019, before the pandemic hit.
In any case, with all three operators so closely matched, competition between them will be fierce. 2022 could prove to be an epic time to be a poker player in New Jersey.
