The group of online poker operators on the Borgata license in New Jersey had more revenue than its rivals for only the fifth time since 2019 and for the sixth time overall, data from the state regulator show.
Led by the BetMGM Poker NJ app, the other operators on the Borgata license — Borgata Poker NJ and partypoker NJ — combined for $798k in revenue in November, according to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE).
The group — the “BetMGM Poker US Network,” but only in New Jersey — held a 37.4% share of the market’s vertical, its highest stake since March (38.8%).
NJDGE data shows Borgata rarely leads its rivals in the Garden State. 888poker and WSOP NJ operate under the Caesars license, while PokerStars NJ is the lone online poker room operator for Resorts.
November Sees a Rare Borgata Lead
Borgata snapped a six-month streak where it trailed Caesars. In July, Borgata also fell behind Resorts.
July was the worst month for Borgata in terms of revenue since February 2020 ($456k), just before the COVID-19 pandemic. Two months later, Borgata hit $1.2 million, its highest mark for revenue since March 2015 ($1.3 million).
But Borgata never got quite the lift from the pandemic that its rivals did. In April 2020, Borgata’s $1.2 million trailed Resorts ($2.1 million) and Caesars ($1.9 million).
WSOP helped propel Caesars to a record $2.8 million in revenue in July 2020 after the World Series of Poker moved the bulk of its bracelet events online.
Caesars saw history repeat itself the following July when online bracelet events for the World Series of Poker lifted the operator to $1.7 million in revenue — not as much as July 2020, but enough to make it the fourth-highest month overall for Caesars.
None of the three poker licensees approached anything near a record month for revenue in November.
Borgata saw its revenue peak in January 2014, the market’s third overall month, at $1.8 million. At the time, Borgata’s most formidable competition came from Caesars ($1.5 million), but embryonic operators Trump Plaza and Trump Taj were also in the mix.
Meanwhile, the $2.1 million in revenue PokerStars generated in April 2020 was a record for Resorts.
PokerStars Set to Disrupt Market
In the coming weeks, PokerStars is preparing to become a disruptive force in the New Jersey online poker apps market.
Last week, the operator took the extraordinary step of taking down its online poker rooms in Michigan and New Jersey to make the server upgrades necessary to support multi-jurisdictional poker and shared liquidity.
Specifically, the PokerStars MI app and the PokerStars NJ app were down for maintenance on December 12 and 13. Both sites are back up, but it’s not clear what PokerStars’ next steps could be.
PokerStars MI said it was waiting for official approval from the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) before it launches multi-jurisdictional poker. The MGCB released a five-page guide for operators interested in such in March.
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The guidance follows Michigan’s decision to join the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA) in May. The compact now includes Delaware, Michigan, Nevada, and New Jersey.
Currently, only WSOP has taken full advantage of MSIGA by pooling its player pools in Delaware, Nevada, and New Jersey. The arrangement is dubbed the WSOP/888 US Network.
WSOP has the edge over rivals BetMGM and PokerStars in that the WSOP/888 US Network has market access in Delaware and Nevada, but the others don’t. It is connected to an igaming monopoly in Delaware — through three racinos running their customized skins powered by 888poker — while in Nevada, the only online poker room available for players is WSOP NV.
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