New Jersey Governor Chris Christie certainly wasn’t shy about making bold predictions for his state’s online poker operation. Christie made the declaration that New Jersey internet poker would generate $1 billion in revenue by July 1st, 2014 – just over seven months after the regulated market opened.
Most analysts on Wall Street had more conservative expectations, predicting that the Garden State would make around $200 million to $300 million in the entire first year. So who’s right after a month-plus of internet gaming in New Jersey?
Apparently, nobody, because initial numbers released by the state’s Division of Gaming Enforcement suggest much lower figures than most analysts have projected. The numbers cover a time period from the November 21st online poker soft launch to December 31st. And during this span, New Jersey poker sites combined for $8.37 million. Assuming this 40-day sample remained constant throughout 2014, the state would generate $76.38 million in poker revenue [(365 / 40) x 8.37].
Of course, there is definitely some improvement to be seen in New Jersey’s online gaming market because they’ve struggled with tech problems in the early going. The main problem is geolocation issues, in which poker sites’ verification programs aren’t able to determine that many players are actually in New Jersey. This frustrating dilemma has already prevented many would-be players from logging on and adding to the revenue.
Regardless of the tech issues, the state government can’t be too happy with their share of the pie. Based on the 15% tax rate that they charge online poker sites, New Jersey earned $1.26 million in taxes from Nov. 21st to Dec. 31st.
If you’re interested in seeing a breakdown from the Division of Gaming Enforcement numbers, as well as which sites are doing well so far, you can take a look at the data below:
(Revenue Data from Nov. 21st to Dec. 31st, 2013)
1. Borgata/PartyPoker – $3.75 million
2 Caesars/888poker – $2.38 million
3. Trump Taj Mahal/Ultimate Gaming – $883k
4. Tropicana/Gamesys – $749k
5. Trump Plaza/Betfair – $428k
6. Golden Nugget/Amaya – $179k