Maryland and New Jersey’s combined brick and mortar and internet poker markets are running nearly neck and neck.
Data released two weeks ago by New Jersey’s Casino Control Commission showed that the combined poker rooms and sites generated $3.68 million in February, with live poker accounting for $1.91 million.
Internet poker decreased $400,000 compared to the previous year and live poker was down about $200,000 over 2017.
In Maryland the four casino card rooms brought in $3.6 million in February, which was very close to the year before. Internet poker has not yet been legalized in the state. The market enjoyed a 25 percent increase last year when the MGM National Harbor opened a 39-table poker room.
Last year, as a result New Jersey’s poker market was about $4.5 million each month, compared to $3.7 million in Maryland.
Because New Jersey’s intrastate poker market is small it’s hard to get accurate comparisons between it and states such as Delaware and Nevada.
According to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, “The consensus is that traditional poker will not experience any significant growth without a national interactive component to support growth in traditional poker by introducing new players to the game.”
