Manne wrote:
When online gambling was still in its infancy, the primary focus was on poker, with full-scale online casino gambling not taking off later.
However, despite NJ online players now having a choice of five poker rooms, the newest of which is the Resorts-run PokerStars, online poker has proven a tougher sell. In comparison to online casino gambling, which NJ players can’t seem to get enough of, the revenue coming in from online poker is lackluster.
This trend is apparent in the figures reported for 2015. Total online casino revenue in New Jersey for 2015 amounted to $125 million, up 33 percent from 2014, while poker revenue actually fell 18 percent to $23.8 million.
On the other hand, during its first month of operation — March 2016 — the long-awaited return of
PokerStars.com to the U.S. resulted in tremendous traffic on that site. But now that the novelty has worn off somewhat, the extent to which PokerStars can keep up the momentum is uncertain. Meanwhile, the other NJ online poker rooms need to do a lot more to generate more traffic to their own sites to remain competitive.
Another notable but not surprising finding is the much stronger contribution of slots as compared to table games to online casino revenue.
At the NJ online casinos, approximately 70 percent of the revenue comes from slots, compared to 30 percent from table games. Just like in the Atlantic City land-based casinos, the online casinos have consistently offered many more slot games than table games. And when new games are being introduced online, those are also much more likely to be a slot game.
Furthermore, slot play earns comp points at a much faster rate than table games, and the wagering requirements to clear bonuses are much lower for slots than for table games (and sometimes table games don’t count at all). Accordingly, there is little incentive to play the latter.
At the Delaware online casinos, the recently reported increases in revenue come from increased play on the video lottery terminals and also from poker, with the combined Delaware and Nevada player pool making that option more attractive. However, table game revenue has declined.
Unlike many online casinos run by offshore operators, neither the New Jersey online casinos nor the Delaware online casinos offer any live dealer games. This feature, perhaps more than any other, adds an element of fun and excitement to online table game play, making it a highly entertaining social experience closely resembling playing the same table games in a real casino.
The addition of this option in New Jersey and Delaware could go a long way towards generating increased interest in online table game play.
However, despite NJ online players now having a choice of five poker rooms, the newest of which is the Resorts-run PokerStars, online poker has proven a tougher sell. In comparison to online casino gambling, which NJ players can’t seem to get enough of, the revenue coming in from online poker is lackluster.
This trend is apparent in the figures reported for 2015. Total online casino revenue in New Jersey for 2015 amounted to $125 million, up 33 percent from 2014, while poker revenue actually fell 18 percent to $23.8 million.
On the other hand, during its first month of operation — March 2016 — the long-awaited return of PokerStars.com to the U.S. resulted in tremendous traffic on that site. But now that the novelty has worn off somewhat, the extent to which PokerStars can keep up the momentum is uncertain. Meanwhile, the other NJ online poker rooms need to do a lot more to generate more traffic to their own sites to remain competitive.
Another notable but not surprising finding is the much stronger contribution of slots as compared to table games to online casino revenue.
At the NJ online casinos, approximately 70 percent of the revenue comes from slots, compared to 30 percent from table games. Just like in the Atlantic City land-based casinos, the online casinos have consistently offered many more slot games than table games. And when new games are being introduced online, those are also much more likely to be a slot game.
Furthermore, slot play earns comp points at a much faster rate than table games, and the wagering requirements to clear bonuses are much lower for slots than for table games (and sometimes table games don’t count at all). Accordingly, there is little incentive to play the latter.
At the Delaware online casinos, the recently reported increases in revenue come from increased play on the video lottery terminals and also from poker, with the combined Delaware and Nevada player pool making that option more attractive. However, table game revenue has declined.
Unlike many online casinos run by offshore operators, neither the New Jersey online casinos nor the Delaware online casinos offer any live dealer games. This feature, perhaps more than any other, adds an element of fun and excitement to online table game play, making it a highly entertaining social experience closely resembling playing the same table games in a real casino.
The addition of this option in New Jersey and Delaware could go a long way towards generating increased interest in online table game play.