New Jersey Sees All-Time High in Online Poker Revenue

By Jerry Smith Staff Writer Updated: 04/16/2020

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Jerry’s greatest advantage is his extensive experience on the casino floor. His time as a casino manager taught him everything about what makes a player tick. Besides being a skilled poker player, he has deep knowledge of all live table games and gambling regulations in the US.

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Online poker activities first increased in March, as the coronavirus pandemic escalated, forcing brick and mortar casinos to shut their doors with no estimate on when they can open again. Poker players have turned to online poker to keep themselves occupied.

So, it came as no surprise when it was announced that the state of New Jersey had set a new record for revenue generated from online poker. The state raked in as much as $3.6 million in online poker revenue, beating the previous record of $3.4 million generated in January 2014. This is the highest revenue ever generated in all of the state’s history.

Especially compared to the numbers from March last year, there has been a staggering 90.6 percent increase. In March 2019, New Jersey generated revenue of only $1.9 million from online poker.

Moreover, the casino shutdown was only for half of March, and considering the shutdown has not been lifted, it is highly likely that April will see even a bigger number.

Brick and mortar casinos in Atlantic City have been shut for about a month now as per orders given by Governor Phil Murphy. This is to help prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus, which has already claimed tens of thousands of lives in the U.S.

New Jersey hits high numbers in revenue for other online gambling activities too

It appears that it’s not just online poker that saw high figures rolling in. New Jersey also raked in impressive amounts of revenue from other online gambling activities as well.

Online table games generated as much as $61.2 million, a whopping 64.4 percent increase. On the other hand, online sports betting brought in around $13.1 million of revenue, which was a 58.4 percent drop. This makes sense considering that most sports betting in New Jersey is done online, and all professional sports events in the US have been canceled for weeks now.

March numbers show “dramatic impact” of shutdowns, says commission chairman

During the two weeks in March that casinos were open, the nine casinos in New Jersey raked in a total of $85.5 million, as per the latest figures released by the New Jersey Department of Gaming Enforcement.

Considering all the revenues from all of the state’s outlets, the gross gaming revenue totals $163.5 million, which is a 44.4 percent drop compared to the revenue from March 2019. This does not come as a surprise, though, and experts predicted it ever since the casinos were shut down.

The drop in gross gaming revenue put an end to New Jersey’s 21-month streak of gaming revenue increases in the state.

Commenting on the drop in the state’s gross gaming revenue, James Plousis, chairman of the Casino Control Commission, said:

As a surprise to no one during this crisis, the March revenue numbers show the dramatic impact of the closures. I know that, at this time, the paramount concern for all of the casino licensees in Atlantic City is the safety of their employees and customers. I share their concern.

As of now, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has not announced when commercial establishments, including casinos, will be able to open their doors again.