Delaware iGaming Revenues Up 7% To $188k in June
July 23, 2014 12:06 pmThe Delaware Lottery has released its latest iGaming results for June, revealing a 7.14% increase in revenues to $187,944 compared to $175,410 generated in May. During the month a horrendous downswing in poker saw revenues fall by 55% to $25,607, compared to the $57,470 taken in May. On a more positive note, however, online casino games reported a massive uptick in business, with revenues up by 124% to $162,337, from $72,537 the previous month.
Unfortunately, online poker has now reached its lowest point since Delaware’s first online gambling site launched in November 2013, with some of the blame due to the summer months noted for low volume as players seek more outdoor activities to enjoy. In addition, the 2014 WSOP may also have diverted action to Las Vegas as poker players flocked to compete in tournament poker’s premier series.
Nevertheless, online pokers 55% decline in June still represent a worrying development for The Diamond State, highlighting even further the folly of operating an online poker market without a sufficiently large player pool. As a result, Delaware will now eagerly be awaiting the launch of its online poker player sharing compact with Nevada, which is expected to start by the end of this summer. As Poker Players Alliance Executive Director John Pappas pointed out recently:
“We need to be realistic when talking to lawmakers about what can be expected from iPoker revenue, particularly when looking at a state-by-state deal where individual states are operating. Until they can have interstate liquidity, I think they will always have lower-than-expected revenues.”
During June, the state’s online poker leader Delaware Park maintained its 62% share of market revenues, followed by Dover Downs which fell by 2 points to 30%. Meanwhile, Harrington Gaming saw a 2 point improvement to 8% for June.
Despite the emphasis being place on poker regulation, it is now clear that the real money spinner is online casino games, which in June accounted for an enormous 86% of iGaming revenues. As well as the impressive 124% rise in casino game revenues, other good news for Delaware included an increase in player sign-ups, which reached 399 new accounts in June, up from 342 in May. The figure also represented the first monthly increase in new player accounts in Delaware’s iGaming history.