Despite the growing popularity of online poker in different parts of the world, Delaware is quite different. In fact, after December, Delaware’s online gambling market has even declined by 18% compared to its 2016 numbers. The state’s online casinos have generated a mere $2.39 million in revenue according to reports.
Based on the December 2017 numbers, the total money wagered at the state’s online casino was down by 56% compared to December 2016. Also, it is worth mentioning that the net revenue generated was 9% lower year after year.
Poker was only able to contribute 8.7% of the total internet gambling revenue of Delaware last December. Table games, on the other hand, were able to generate 19.1% while video lottery had the largest contribution by 72.2%.
Delaware is among the three states that have licensed and regulated online gambling and poker. Pennsylvania will soon become the third state to have passed a similar legislation.
Poor Numbers
There are many reasons why Delaware’s numbers are struggling. One of which is the state’s small population. It only has a total population of around 945,913 in 2015.
In addition to this, it is worth mentioning that poker doesn’t seem so popular in the state. Delaware has never been considered a hotbed of poker regardless if it is live or online. There is also just one player from the state that has more than $1 million tournament winnings, and that is Abraham Korotki. Korotki was able to become a popular figure in poker back in 2006 when he won $433,000 in the inaugural WSOP Circuit Atlantic City Main Event. Just last year, he also won another $350,000 by winning the $2500 Borgata Summer Poker Open Event. But what made him so popular was a $21,000 score that made him win first place in the 2009 WPT Borgata Poker Open Ladies Event.
Just How Bad Are Delaware’s Numbers?
In 2016, Delaware’s online casino generated a meager $376,000 from poker. In 2017, it even dropped to $231,000 in net revenue which translates to a 38% drop.
In contrast to New Jersey, a state that has 8 million more residents and a lively poker atmosphere, Delaware’s entire annual poker revenue will simply cover for 13% of New Jersey’s July revenue. And to make matters worse, July was New Jersey’s worst month last year. New Jersey was able to generate a $2,338,866 profit from online poker from last January which was its best month of the year.
Is 2018 Different?
There is no denying that Delaware is such a small market compared to that of New Jersey. Given the numbers from the 2017 reports, it seems that online gaming has been on a downward trend and it looks like online poker has also suffered the most. Is this how it is going to be for the following year?
For the state, they are planning to make a few changes for 2018. New Jersey signed an agreement together with both Nevada and Delaware to share online poker liquidity late in 2017 that could shake things up. Though there are still no updates regarding this partnership from the tree states, many in the online poker community are already excited what 2018 has in store for them.
