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Online poker sites in the Garden State continue to be stronger than in any previous year in terms of revenue, but their scorching hot growth has cooled in recent months.
The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement reported figures from October showing that the three online poker operators raked a combined $2,517,774 last month from their cash games and tournaments. It was a 53.5% increase compared to October 2019, while off slightly from this September’s rake of $2,554,216.
The online poker growth trailed behind the 108.7% year-over-year growth for online slots and table games, which generated $90,933,749 in winnings last month.
Through the first 10 months of 2020, online poker revenue was up 88.5% and online casino games increased 103.4%.
During the first 10 months of 2019, New Jersey online poker revenue was down 2% compared to the same period in 2018, while iCasino win increased 63.1%. Both verticals have benefited tremendously from the COVID-19 pandemic, but larger gains have been seen on the digital casino side of things.
Below is a look at online poker rake since the pandemic struck the U.S.
CIE’s online poker rake grew 37.7% to $951,651, compared to $690,706 in October 2019.
CIE can pool players from Nevada and is consistently the top operator in the Garden State market. However, its rivals aren’t too far behind.
Resorts Digital, the online gambling partner of PokerStars NJ, recorded $842,307 in rake in October, up 50.5% from $559,454 a year prior.
Borgata, home of PartyPoker NJ, placed third with $723,816, up 85.5% from $390,169 in October 2019.
PokerStars NJ on Oct. 10 kicked off its 2020 New Jersey Championship of Online Poker (NJCOOP), which ran through Oct. 26. The series boasted $1 million in tournament guarantees. Similarly, WSOP.com hosted its New Jersey Fall Online Circuit series Oct. 15-27. The series also had about $1 million in guaranteed prize pools. Additionally, the WSOP ran an October series dubbed PLO Mania.
Partypoker NJ had its own special online series in October, which featured $260,000 in guarantees.
On Monday, the WSOP announced that it will be holding a WSOP Main Event starting in mid-December, giving Garden State poker players something to put on their calendar. With satellites to the $10,000 tournament costing entrants as little as $1, Caesars should see some major revenue growth in December. The Main Event winner will be crowned in person in Las Vegas.