New Jersey Online Gambling Brief: Survey Says…Fewer NJ Grinders Play on Unregulated Sites
According to one survey of New Jersey online gamblers, fewer players are participating on unregulated sites now than they were in January. That’s good news for the future of regulated gambling, but did little in the short-term to prevent traffic on the Garden State’s iPoker sites from tumbling nearly 10 percent over the past week.
And just when we thought the industry was in the midst of a mid-summer recovery.
But before we get too down on PartyPoker, WSOP and the gang, it’s important to realize that outside factors may have had, dare I say, a short-term cannibalizing effect on the industry.
In other news, more questions regarding New Jersey casino expansion (yes, expansion) arose this week , Senator Lesniak continues his fight to legalize sports betting and one college professor paints an exceedingly pessimistic portrait of Atlantic City’s future.
Suffice to say, it was another busy week here in Dirty Jersey, just how us analyst types like it. So without further adieu, let’s get to it.
New Jersey players say no to unregulated sites
In January a survey revealed that 24 percent of New Jersey gamblers were still wagering on unregulated sites exclusively. Since, that number has dropped to 16. Of the remaining 84 percent, 26 percent play on both offshore and regulated sites, and 37 percent of those who formerly preferred US-facing casinos now only play on sites authorized by the state.
Several factors could account for the tendency towards legal online gambling. For one, cross-promotional ties, primarily those that allow players to exchange their loyalty points for comps, free rooms or offers them opportunities to satellite into live poker events hold huge appeal to NJ gamblers; even more so now that casinos have begun to show a willingness to match a player’s b&m loyalty tier to their online status.
Of course there’s also the fact that some U.S. facing sites have either stopped accepting registrants from the Garden State or pulled out of NJ altogether. A few notable examples include Merge, WPN and Bovada.
Yesterday’s gains are today’s losses
After a seven-week surge that saw a 20 percent spike in cash-game liquidity, New Jersey’s poker rooms were hit by crippling losses this week. According to PokerFuse Pro via PokerScout, 7-day averages across all networks are down an alarming 9 percent over the past seven days, with no apparent end in sight.
The most likely culprit behind the fiasco appears to be a dearth of player incentives, as most of the state’s iPoker rooms find themselves in a transitory state between promos.
It’s also possible that the presence of the Big Stax series at Parx Casino in Bensalem, Pennsylvania is drawing NJ players away from the virtual felt. Since its inception in early-2013, the Big Stax has become one of the most popular quarterly series on the East Coast, with events drawing as many s 2,000 entries. And where do a good portion of those runners hail from? I’ll give you a hint: it’s not Utah.
If it wasn’t bad enough that PA casinos were cannibalizing business away from Atlantic City casinos, now they have to steal players away from our online sites too? The nerve.
HarrahsCasino.com releases mobile app update
Harrah’s Casino recently launched an updated version of its mobile software for iOS and iPads. The app, which is available for free via iTunes, the App Store and directly through HarrahsCasino.com, boasts many of the features found on the browser-based version of the software, including real-money slots and table games, cashiering options, information regarding promotions and responsible gambling and access to Harrah’s Total Rewards customer loyalty program.
Notably, the app’s geolocation software is able to detect players on mobile data, effectively negating the need for them to be within range of Wifi.
Casinos coming to North Jersey?
Only one major roadblock remains before New Jersey voters win the right to decide whether casinos will be constructed outside of Atlantic City – but it’s a doozy.
On paper, the prospect of introducing more casinos in a state whose gaming industry is in a state of absolute free fall seems outlandish. Yet, given Northern New Jersey’s exceedingly high population density – not to mention, it’s close proximity to New York City – building a Jersey City or Meadowlands-based casino is starting to make more and more sense.
Of course, before New Jersey opens up the proverbial floodgates lawmakers, will have to discuss ways so that Atlantic City can benefit from the new casinos. While that answer might not be immediately apparent, the construction of a new casino or two would fare well with the state’s casino workers, many of whom will soon find themselves on the state’s unemployment lines or fearing for their future job security.
Look for New Jersey voters to weigh in on the issue via a referendum as early as next November.
Report: AC decline worse than imagined
In the eyes of one Stockton Professor, Atlantic City’s already bleak economic outlook could get a whole lot darker. In a 10-page report, Oliver Cooke outlines four different possible scenarios that will transpire in Atlantic City prior to the city “righting” itself. In his most conservative estimate, Cooke reasons that 6,300 jobs and nearly $160 million in earnings will be lost due to the closure of Trump Plaza and Showboat later this summer.
In an extreme case, Cooke states that a total of six AC casinos will be forced to shut their doors before the once fabled city begins to heal from the devastation wrought by a struggling economy and the growth of Pennsylvania’s casino industry. He argues that in order to move forward, AC will have to pay extra attention to facilitating the growth of its non-gaming sectors, and urges that AC not mimic the same development model that led to prosperity in Las Vegas.
Lesniak faces difficult road in the battle to legalize sports betting
Looks like longtime sports betting proponent Sen. Raymond Lesniak is planning to launch a new campaign that would see Monmouth Park and other state casinos and racetracks accept sports wagers. This, mere weeks after the Supreme Court refused to hear New Jersey’s appeal to overturn the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 – which only permits four states to reap the benefits of legalized sports betting.
As part of his latest scheme, Lesniak argues that the PASPA “does not even obligate New Jersey to leave in place the state-law prohibitions against sports gambling that it had chosen to adopt prior to PASPA’s enactment.” Lesniak is of the belief that should New Jersey go about repealing said prohibitions that the Federal Government would not get involved.
Maybe not, but Lesniak’s proposal would undoubtedly be resisted by anti-sports betting organizations.
More on Lesniak’s efforts here.
New iPoker promotions set to roll out for August
It appears that New Jersey’s poker rooms have at least the semblance of a promotional plan in place for August – well, at least some of them.
Listed below are the least yawn-worthy of the lot:
- BorgataPoker.com Countdown to 50,000,000 Hand Plus: Basically, an unnecessarily complicated version of Borgata‘s 30 million hand promo, which awarded players dealt milestone hands with cash rewards. Keep it simple, guys.
- BorgataPoker.com Summer Heater Satellites: Allows players to qualify for a $200,000 guaranteed tournament at the Borgata’s b&m poker room for as little as $10 bucks. On a side, the live event will feature an unprecedented seven Day 1’s.
- WSOP’s Turbo SNG Leaderboards: WSOP’s fan favorite promo is back, only this time the emphasis will be on turbo Sit & Go tournaments.
Looks like 888 might be taking the month off from launching a new promo. That’s too bad, as its recently concluded cashback oriented promos did wonders for its struggling volume. Without a cash-game promo in place, they might as well call themselves UltimatePoker.com.
Yes, I went there.
