PokerStars Dominating NJ iPoker Market As Shared Liquidity Gives Boost

Summary:

• The NJ online poker market registered an annual growth for the first time in two years
• PokerStars has enjoyed top status in New Jersey for two months now
• This growth is attributed to the launch of PokerStars’ shared liquidity network in the US

PokerStars’ newly launched shared liquidity in the US is beginning to bear fruit, with the operator dominating the New Jersey online poker market for two straight months now.

PokerStars merged its New Jersey and Michigan players into one pool on January 1, 2023, and since then the operator has been getting positive results in terms of revenue and market growth.

PokerStars Records Revenue Increase in February as Rivals Suffer Declines

According to the latest figures from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE), PokerStars NJ (running under the Resorts license) remained the state’s number one online poker site in February, recording $878,000 in revenue.

PokerStars NJ’s February 2023 results represent a massive 75% year-over-year increase, making it the company’s best February since 2017.

Meanwhile, PokerStars NJ’s rivals suffered revenue declines in the same month. Sister sites partypoker NJ, Borgata NJ, and BetMGM Poker NJ, which all run under the partypoker US network using Borgata’s license, recorded $704,000 in total revenue, a 21% drop from the same period last year. The WSOP/888 network running under Caesars license also did not fare well in February, with revenue falling by 16% to just $701,000 compared to February 2022.

All in all, NJ’s regulated online poker sites generated $2.3 million in total revenue in February.

PokerStars NJ Poised to Maintain Top Status

The launch of PokerStars’ shared liquidity network in the US has brought huge benefits not only for the operator but for the NJ market in general. Since PokerStars’ multi-state online poker network connecting the NJ and MI pools went live, the site’s revenue increased significantly in January ($1,091,056), up 46% from last year.

The revenue slumps experienced by both the partypoker US and WSOP/888 networks in February were compensated by the astonishing revenue increase achieved by PokerStars NJ, which means the entire NJ market still enjoyed year-over-year growth of 2.5%.

This is the first time in two years that the NJ market recorded growth, mainly thanks to the launch of PokerStars’ US network. If the mini-boom during the pandemic in 2020 is taken out of the equation, February 2023 represents the best performance for the NJ market in six years.

Given the current circumstances, it looks like PokerStars NJ will continue to dominate the market in the months ahead, with the site now holding almost 40% of the total market share. Its competitors will only get the chance to grab the top spot if they too add Michigan to their respective player pools. But both BetMGM and WSOP have yet to announce plans to merge their NJ and MI players.