New Jersey is a leader in the regulated online gaming market in terms of revenues and regulation. It is the model that other states have followed.
New Jersey’s successful fight against the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act allowed full sports betting outside Nevada. It was the second state to launch online casino games. That occurred in 2013, a few weeks after Delaware opened internet gaming.
Delaware’s lottery model turned out to be the worst approach. It went with a monopoly operator that offers few casino games and a dated online poker platform branded with the state’s three racinos. Its online gaming revenues of about $1 million a month reflect this mistake.
Online gaming in New Jersey created an open market. Casinos partnered with experienced internet operators to create a competition that benefited the state, as well as its casinos and residents.
A report by PlayNJ notes that New Jersey online casino and online poker operators have posted $4.5 billion in lifetime revenues since the games were legalized almost 10 years ago. This has generated nearly $800 million in taxes.
Another $1.9 billion has been won by New Jersey online sportsbooks since it went live in 2018. The taxes generated by that action are over $250 million. New Jersey has collected over $1 billion in taxes from online gaming since its inception there.
New Jersey online gaming revenue helps Atlantic City’s smallest operators stay competitive
Golden Nugget and Resorts generate more revenue from online games than ones found on their casino floors. Most Atlantic City casinos derive notable income from online gaming.
This extends the marketing reach of Atlantic City casinos. When a player makes an account in the state, the casino has that information. If the action is desirable, this may be a player that can be lured away from a casino in a different state that is closer to their home.
Online casinos offer some of the best video poker in the world. These pay tables are competition for Atlantic City casinos. Offering 96% and 97% video poker will not work if the player can sit at home and play 9/6 Jacks or Better, 9/6 Bonus Poker Deluxe and Not-so-ugly-ducks. These games all return 99.5% or more with perfect play and five coins, and may also be played with bonuses and comps.
Online poker sites can be used to promote live poker rooms. Borgata is a skin on the BetMGM Poker Network. WSOP.com is connected to the poker rooms at Harrah’s and Tropicana. Online sportsbook players can also be marketed in this way through partner mobile operators.
Nevada has shown that New Jersey is the online gaming regulation leader
Nevada could not have gotten online gambling more wrong. I understand the lack of desire in creating licensed online casinos. There are predatory issues, and I think Nevada casinos can make a case that it would hurt revenue as these games would mostly be aimed at locals in major cities where there is widespread gaming.
However, Nevada online poker was one of the largest embarrassments in the industry in the last 10 years. There were three operators at one point. There is only one today.
South Point’s Real Gaming should have never made it out of a gaming lab. Its software was the worst that I have seen since the days of poker on IRC in the 90’s. Tournaments with fields larger than one table could not function properly. Players could sit without posting a big blind, then move seats before the blind got to them.
A player that failed to click the “get up” button on the table, and just clicked the “x” box to close it, would continue to sit at the table and get blinded away. The geolocation software was nonsensical.
Ultimate Poker was marginally better. Its software was playable, but it had its own issues. It had virtually no features that players enjoyed. It was as basic as it gets.
Ultimate Poker failed in 2014, about 18 months after its launch. Real Gaming closed in 2016, after being open the same amount of time.
WSOP.com is the only survivor in the Nevada online poker market. Its history has been plagued with mismanagement and issues with support and software. However, it still manages to use its online poker site to market its major tournament series. Players can win World Series of Poker seats and play in major events on the poker site.
Nevada can’t get online sports betting right either
Nevada mobile sportsbooks require players to go to a casino to create an account. It is mandated by Nevada gaming regulations.
This defeats the purpose of using online gaming as a vehicle to market retail casinos. It also hurts the players as it is inconvenient to visit all the casinos needed for the Nevada sports apps. Rural Nevada residents have little or no access to mobile sports betting.
This also lowers Nevada’s sports betting handle. A resident in California, Idaho or Utah can’t just drive across the border to start betting. The player must go to a casino. The border towns often have a monopoly sportsbook operator. Some have no casino at all.
Nevada visitors arriving by plane are unable to make bets as soon as they land at the airport. This could hurt handle related to major events where there are hours-long lines, making it impossible to get to the counter in time to make a wager or open a mobile betting account.