Delaware iPoker Revenues Fall 16% To $145k In September

In September, Delaware’s online gambling market fell to its lowest level of 2014 as revenues plummeted by 16% to $145,022, compared to the $172,854 generated for the previous month. From that total, online casino games were down by 16% to $112,717, while online poker revenues, too, were down by 16.4% to $32,305 compared to August’s figure of $38,655. A total of 396 new user accounts were then created in September, a slight 5% improvement on the 376 new players reported in August.
The lackluster results come just as Delaware marks its first year of regulated online gambling, but there seems little signs of celebration as monthly revenues continue to fall significantly below initial pre-launch predictions. Originally, Delaware forecast online gambling would rake in around $5 million in annual taxes in 2014 alone, and as a result the state decided to charge operators a $500,000 licensing fee, and a 100% tax on the first $3.75 million of their combined annual online gambling win. Unfortunately for the state’s three online operators, however, their combined iGaming revenues for this year is just $1,613,913, with their monthly tallies as follows:
Jan – $145,667
Feb – $167,333
Mar – $207,038
Apr – $240,762
May – $175,410
Jun – $187,332
Jul – $172,496
Aug – $172,853
Sep – $145,022
Breaking September’s figures down further, Delaware Park saw its revenues plunge to $89,742, their lowest levels of 2014, with online casino games accounting for $44,086 of that amount, online poker $8,429, and video lottery $26,524. Next, Dover Downs reported its second worst month of the year with $38,261 in revenues, of which casino games provided $12,218, online poker $8,429, and video poker $17,614, and finally Harrington’s generated $17,019 in revenues, with casino games collecting a mere $1,734, online Poker $4,745 and video poker $10,539.
Needless to say, a lack of liquidity continues to represent the biggest obstacle to Delaware’s online poker market. This is hardly unexpected for a state of just 900,000 people, and even Nevada with 2.8 million people is finding great difficulty in keeping its online poker market alive. Last week, for instance, the Silver State’s first regulated online poker site Ultimate Gaming shut shop, and commenting on the surprise move, Ultimate Gaming Chairman Tom Breitling, explained:
“As has been the case in other jurisdictions, online poker revenues in Nevada have fallen far short of original projections. Moreover, the state-by-state approach to online gaming has created an extremely cost-prohibitive and challenging operating environment. These factors have combined to make the path to profitability very difficult and uncertain. Consequently, we have decided to cease operations.”