Data from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE) show the state’s online poker rooms combined for $2.2 million of revenue in December and $27.4 million for the full year 2022 — signs that the market continues to decline following its pandemic peak but is starting to level off.
Every NJ online poker room saw revenue decline year-over-year. Overall, the market was down 8.5% year-over-year — revenue totaled $29.9 million in 2021. The vertical’s best year remains 2020 when the pandemic drove revenue up to $38.8 million.
The two operators on the Caesars license, WSOP NJ and 888poker NJ, led the field with a combined $10.6 million in revenue for the full year 2022, but that was down 10% from the year before ($11.8 million). Revenue was off 35.2% from a record high of $16.4 million the pair on the Caesars license grossed in 2020.
Borgata’s operators BetMGM Poker NJ, Borgata Poker NJ, and partypoker NJ {were second for revenue in 2022 at $9.3 million. Revenue slipped 6.2% from 2021 ($10 million) but was down 39% from a record mark of $15.3 million in 2014.
PokerStars NJ, on the Resorts license, was third for revenue for the second consecutive year at $7.4 million. The operator grossed $8.2 million in 2021, equating to a year-over-year loss of 9.3%. Like WSOP/888, PokerStars peaked in 2020 for revenue — the operator made $12.6 million that year. From that peak, PokerStars was off 41.3% in 2022.
- $50 in freeplay funds
- Play for WSOP bracelets
- Rewarding promotions
Borgata Flat in December
December was a better month for PokerStars, but not much changed for its rivals.
PokerStars grossed $620k in December, up 8.8% month-over-month ($570k), but revenue was down 9.6% compared to December 2021 ($686k). Still, it was the only operator to see a monthly rise and a revenue increase for the second consecutive month.
Borgata led the vertical in December with $797k in revenue, flat from November and down less than 1% from the year-ago month ($804k).
WSOP/888 had $755k of revenue in December, down 1.4% month-over-month ($766k) and 11% year-over-year ($849k). But December was also the lowest month for revenue since January 2020 ($718k).
- $100 in free funds
- Great tournament schedule
- Excellent player traffic
PokerStars Poised For Growth in 2023
The revenue numbers are in for 2022. They are likely to look very different in 2023.
December 2022 was the final month before PokerStars combined its player pools in New Jersey and Michigan. The combination was made possible after Michigan joined the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA), a multi-state online poker compact.
Moving forward, PokerStars is likely to see a sharp uptick in revenue — an early traffic analysis suggests PokerStars’ combined network between Michigan and New Jersey is much more extensive than the two individual sites. Shared liquidity through MSIGA could fuel PokerStars over its rivals in the Garden State.
The success of the PSPC Online series and two special tournaments held on January 1 and 2, could be a sign of things to come for PokerStars.
MSIGA includes Delaware, Michigan, Nevada, and New Jersey.
