New Jersey’s regulated online gambling market generated $10.5m in May, a 9% drop from the previous month’s total and the second straight month of declining revenue since the market launched in late November. Online casino revenue fell by $600k to $8.2m while poker revenue dropped over $300k to $2.3m. For the year-to-date, New Jersey’s online market has earned $53.5m, with casino accounting for $38.9m and poker generating $14.6m.
The Borgata/Bwin.party combo maintained its market dominance, earning just over $4m, down about $100k from April. Borgata’s casino revenue increased by $100k to $2.8m while poker slipped $200k to $1.2m. Caesars Interactive Entertainment (CIE) sites earned just under $2.8m, down from $3.05m in April. CIE casino revenue fell $150k to $1.76m while poker dipped about $100k to just over $1m. The two companies share of the overall market nudged up slightly to around 65%.
The Tropicana’s Gamesys-powered casino-only site earned $1.87m, down about $250k from the previous month. The Trump Plaza/Betfair online casino earned $677k, down 27% from April’s total. The Golden Nugget’s online casino was the month’s lone gainer with $611k, up from $575k in April. Total earnings from the Trump Taj Mahal/Ultimate Gaming pairing also slipped 27% to just under $500k, with all but $40k coming via casino.
Clearly, New Jersey’s online market isn’t just suffering from online poker’s traditional summer swoon. Some help could be on the way now that the state Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) has clarified its policies on affiliate licensing. The state attorney general issued a warning to affiliates last month to cease promoting any online gambling sites not holding a DGE-issued license and has now followed that up with specifics on what types of affiliate licenses are required depending on what compensation model they utilize. Full details of the affiliate guidelines are available here.
