Despite the Pennsylvania online poker market remaining in decline year-over-year, the BetMGM Poker network continues to post annual growth, data from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) show.
March marked the fifth consecutive month of posting yearly growth for the thriving network made up of two poker skins: BetMGM Poker PA and Borgata Poker PA.
Combined, the pair reported $486k in revenue last month, an all-time high for the network.
PokerStars PA, on the Mount Airy license, remains the market leader with a healthy share of 62% and grossing nearly $1.8 million. However, it fell 7.7% year-over-year, slightly better than the market average.
WSOP PA, on the Harrah’s license, remains in second place with $614k, its best since August 2022, but is losing its market share rapidly to the BetMGM Poker network.
The operator, a year ago, was much stronger, with revenue of $918k and a market share close to 30%. Today, its share has dropped to 21.3% and it could lose its second-place spot to the combined BetMGM/Borgata network of 16.8%.
- 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
Meanwhile, the two BetMGM brands sharing their player pools on a single network, saw revenue increase by 27% over March 2022.
BetMGM operating on the Hollywood Casino license grossed $356k, its third best in its history, and enough to grab a share of 12.3%. Year-over-year revenue was up by 25% but marginally down over February 2023.
On the Rivers-Philadelphia license, revenue at Borgata posted an all-time high, reporting almost $130k and a sizeable increase of 35% annually. Its market share also hit a record 4.5% and seems to be chipping away at growth at the expense of WSOP. The operator’s previous best revenue was set in September 2022.
Despite gains by BetMGM and Borgata, it was not enough to offset losses by WSOP and PokerStars. In fact, this is broadly in line with the market trend of the last eight months.
| Operator | Revenue in 2022 | Revenue in 2023 | Year-to-Year Change % |
|---|---|---|---|
| PokerStars PA | $1,940,011 | $1,789,662 | -7.7% |
| WSOP PA | $918,959 | $614,389 | -33.1% |
| BetMGM PA | $285,039 | $356,148 | +24.9% |
| Borgata PA | $96,188 | $129,511 | +34.6% |
WSOP Needs to Step Up its Game
It should be a worrying sign for WSOP. While its revenue in Pennsylvania continues to decline, in Michigan, it is playing the role of an underdog with an average of about just 70 concurrent cash game seats — much behind PokerStars MI and BetMGM Poker MI.
In New Jersey and Nevada, it still runs on 888poker’s decade-old software, which is well behind the times. The software misses out on many features crucial for sustainability.
The operator no longer holds the position of the only network to operate a shared liquidity network in the US. Earlier this year, PokerStars became the second network in the country to launch a shared liquidity network merging its NJ & MI player pools into one.
- Up to $100 in free play with first deposit*
- Top-quality software
- Compete for WSOP bracelets & rings
To add to its worries, its partnership with GGPoker appears to have been strained, at least in Ontario, after GGPoker made the decision to rebrand its online poker room from WSOP.ca to GGPoker.ca.
“I can confirm that some changes have been made to better align WSOP.ca online poker players with the rest of the GGPoker community worldwide and make it even clearer that they are playing the same poker games and features and enjoying the same experience wherever possible as everyone else using GGPoker software,” a GG source told Poker Industry PRO in an exclusive last month.
No doubt, the upcoming WSOP live series should help the operator see a boost to its traffic and revenues in all the states where it operates. However, if it doesn’t get its game straight in the US market, the flourishing BetMGM network would further claw market share from WSOP.
