New Jersey Online Gambling Brief: Cannibalization Theory, TIME says “Pathetic,” and HUDs
New Jersey’s iGaming industry is fast approaching its five-month anniversary and things haven’t slowed down one single bit; in fact the industry is just as interesting, complicated, and unknown as it was the day it launched.
As always we’ll try to make sense out of the stories, rumors, and gossip surrounding the online gambling industry in New Jersey, and try to bring some order to the chaos in this week’s New Jersey Online Gambling Brief.
In this week’s column you’ll find some new information on why online gambling does not cannibalize live gambling; see what TIME Magazine thinks of the early revenue numbers; find out which New Jersey online poker room will be unveiling some new software updates; and a whole lot more.
Offshore operators still vibrant in NJ
Legalized online poker was expected to end (or put a serious dent in) the unlicensed offshore poker rooms still operating in the US market and while there has been some successes (Merge Gaming leaving New Jersey and Delaware for example), for the most part these poker rooms have been able to operate alongside licensed poker rooms.
That being said, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement could start cracking down on these providers even harder according to an article on Philly.com.
A New Jersey DGE spokesperson, Kerry Langan, said the DGE was “aware of this issue and is taking steps to coordinate an appropriate response to this illegal activity,” in the Philly.com article.
Why are players still frequenting these sites? Some online poker players are unable to differentiate between the two and other players prefer the larger player bases and promotions unregulated sites offer.
TIME Magazine calls iGaming revenues “Pathetic”
With the current federal ban being pushed by Sheldon Adelson, the battle between California tribes and PokerStars, and the revenue numbers that have been reported in New Jersey and Nevada, pretty much everyone has been talking about iGaming in some way, shape, or form. Online gambling has even found its way on to the FOX News and MSNBC airwaves!
Another “big deal” that has picked up on the iGaming story is TIME Magazine, although I’m not so sure I agree with their headline: So Far Online Gambling Revenues Have Been Pathetic.
Actually, it was the initial estimates by lawmakers that were “pathetic.”
Furthermore, the failure to reach these impossibly unattainable projections has overshadowed what has otherwise been a pretty strong rollout in Nevada, Delaware, and New Jersey, and has taken the attention away from the real problems like geolocation and payment processing.
Perhaps TIME could do a story on how some banks and credit card companies are refusing to process legal online gambling transactions?
Maybe they could call it: So Far Banking Policy Regarding Online Gambling Has Been Pathetic.
Seth Palansky agrees with Boyd Gaming
Earlier this year the CEO of Boyd Gaming, Ken Smith, revealed some of the company’s internal data in regards to the Borgata and online gambling that proved the long-held belief among industry insiders that online gambling doesn’t cannibalize land-based casinos.
This past week Caesars and WSOP.com, through Seth Palansky, have made similar remarks and offered up their own data proving there is little overlap between the two markets, and that online gambling can create brick & mortar customers.
partypoker software update imminent
It appears that partypoker is going to make the first sweeping upgrade to the new poker client the company rolled out last year. The new partypoker software looks great but there have also been complaints, as players have found the new client to be less smooth and functional as the old partypoker software.
But those opinions may soon be changed.
According to an article at PokerFuse.com, “The poker product in New Jersey will also get ‘feature enhancements‘ over the next few weeks.”
New Jersey traffic numbers
The downward spiral continues for New Jersey’s top two online poker sites as Party / Borgata’s rolling average has dropped to just of 180 cash-game players (a 10% decline week-over-week), while WSOP.com also saw a substantial drop in cash-game traffic this week going from 150 to 140 players according to www.pokerscout.com’s data.
The only traffic gains this week were at 888’s All American Poker Network (which is still a network of one) as average cash game traffic ticked up from 90 to 95 players.
Ultimate Poker is now down to an average of just 8 cash-game players, a 50% decline.
We thought you should know…
WSOP “on the fence” when it comes to HUD’s
There is a lot of talk in the poker world over the legality and morality of using tracking software and HUD’s, as well as a more generalized and philosophical debate over whether these software tools are good or bad for the game.
Now one of the online providers in the US has weighed in on the issue, albeit in a very noncontroversial and noncommittal way.
WSOP.com will not endorse the use of HUD’s, nor will the company ban their usage, “We’re not going to endorse using them. We’re also not banning them,” WSOP.com Head of Poker Bill Rini told the 2+2 forum. “I asked our compliance team about HUDs. They said there was nothing in the regulations about HUDs,” Rini also stated in his forum post.
However, WSOP.com may not allow them for very long, as their usage seems to be in the DGE’s court. “I asked them to ask the DGE to clarify… They got back to us to tell us that they were not making a decision on the matter at this time. We interpreted that to mean that HUDs were allowed,” Rini told 2+2.
