WSOP Poker Site Traffic to Drop

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The WSOP poker site will see a dropoff in traffic in the coming weeks. Pokerfuse reported this week that the Delaware poker site that connects to the Nevada and New Jersey ones will close soon. That is because 888, which operates the poker sites, lost the contract in Delaware. Rush Street Interactive will take over the state’s online gambling operations. The company does not have a poker site at this time.

WSOP has struggled with the most basic operations. 888, which owns the platform and handles player support, has been hit with massive fines for issues related to money laundering and problem gamblers.

It raises the question as to whether 888 should be licensed to operate in the United States. Atlantic City Advantage has long warned players to avoid 888 and WSOP.com. We feel strongly that WSOP is not a safe poker site.

Game Intel tracks online poker traffic. WSOP.com’s networked site averages about 260 players daily. It peaks around double that amount. It is the largest New Jersey poker site. PokerStars and BetMGM are about half its size.

The Delaware Lottery reports that its monopoly poker site rakes about $25,000 to $30,000 per month. That is down substantially from last year. Based on these numbers, WSOP.com New Jersey will lose about 10 percent of its traffic. It will remain the largest poker site, but it allows BetMGM and PokerStars to catch up with it. 

New Jersey online poker options

PokerStars networks its New Jersey site with Michigan. BetMGM and its sister site Borgata do not combine any of its player pools. However, West Virginia just joined the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement.

BetMGM expressed interest in entering the West Virginia online poker market. The state cannot support a poker site without linking with other states. This leads industry experts to assume that BetMGM is in the process of combining player pools and maybe entering the Nevada market, where it holds a license. 

Delaware online poker will return

Rush Street Interactive owns the Run It Once poker platform. The company intends to introduce it in Delaware in 2024. Unfortunately, there will be a gap of months where there is no legal online poker in Delaware. This may be a positive in the long run. 

Run It Once will need a larger pool of players than Delaware offers. This means it will expand into other states. Rush Street Interactive operates BetRivers, which is licensed in nearly any state with online sportsbooks. It has online casinos in four, soon to be five, states. 

With Rush Street Interactive live in most states where online poker operates, it will not require as much regulatory work to get poker licensed. A new poker site would help with competition, especially if it is interstate. That gives players more options, which is always a great thing. It may also help WSOP.com players who have little or no other online poker options.