January proved to be a boon for PokerStars NJ as the first month with multi-state poker boosted revenue by more than 76% month-over-month and helped the operator grab its largest market share in nearly five years.
Real money online poker in NJ generated $2.7 million in revenue in January, according to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE) data. That marked a nearly 25% increase month-over-month ($2.2 million) and a 6% increase year-over-year ($2.6 million).
But PokerStars NJ, which operates on the Resorts license, saw revenue jump to nearly $1.1 million in January, up 76% from December 2022 ($620k) and up 46% from the same month a year ago ($747k).
January a Great Month for PokerStars NJ
For PokerStars NJ, January 2023 was a good month by several metrics.
It was the operator’s best month for revenue since the pandemic period, July 2020 ($1.1 million). It was also its eighth-highest month overall for revenue — with five of those eight months coinciding with the pandemic. Special tournaments to celebrate the merged player pools drove revenue in January.
PokerStars’ held a 40.3% share of the market in January, making it the operator’s best month in market share since April 2018, when it had 45.3% of the market.
January was also a rare month of late where PokerStars held more of the market than its two groups of rivals — WSOP NJ and 888poker NJ on the Caesars license, and BetMGM Poker NJ, Borgata Poker NJ, and partypoker NJ on the Borgata license.
PokerStars once dominated its rivals — it led in revenue and market share every month from April 2016 to April 2018. But it couldn’t continue the run and has only led three times since — in October 2018, April 2020, and now again in January 2023.
- $150 in free funds
- Great tournament schedule
- Excellent player traffic
It was expected that PokerStars would do well in January after successfully combining its player pools in Michigan and New Jersey on January 1. The combination was made possible after Michigan joined the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA), a multi-state online poker compact, in May 2022.
PokerStars MI was Michigan’s first online poker operator to receive approval to launch multi-state poker from the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB). There’s been no update on when BetMGM Poker MI or WSOP MI plan to combine their player pools with their counterparts in New Jersey.
Borgata, Caesars Also Up in January
Without being able to share liquidity with their counterparts in Michigan, BetMGM Poker NJ and WSOP NJ will likely continue to trail PokerStars NJ for the foreseeable future.
The Borgata licensees grossed $817k in January, up 2.5% from December 2022 ($797k) but down 3.7% year-over-year ($849k). Meanwhile, operators on the Caesars license were third in revenue with $802k, up about 6% from the month prior ($755k) but off 16.7% from January 2022 ($962k).
Borgata peaked for revenue at $1.8 million way back in January 2014, the market’s third overall month. At the time, Borgata’s most formidable competition came from Caesars ($1.5 million).
Caesars’ licensees hit a record $2.8 million in revenue in July 2020 after the World Series of Poker moved the bulk of its bracelet events online.
PokerStars hit a record $2.1 million in revenue in April 2020.
