That was fast.
Just one week into its online poker operations in New Jersey, PokerStars already appears to be dominating the market and attracting more players than any other site in the state.
According to PokerScout, PokerStars NJ has averaged 170 cash game players in its first week with a 24-hour peak of 441 players. Meanwhile, WSOP/888 had 140 and 341, respectively. Party Borgata NJ is in third with a 95-player average over the week and a peak of 252.
Play is restricted to players physically located in the state and pales in comparison to the global PokerStars platform, which averages 17,000 cash game players.
Still, the New Jersey market has shown signs of growth, though most of its revenue comes from online casino games. The state’s online gaming win was a record $14.7 million in February, compared to $10.4 million in February 2015, reflecting an increase of 41.8 percent. Online poker, however, brought in just under $2 million, down 2.5 percent from 2015.
PokerStars NJ, however, also offers slots and casino games.
The successful launch has been overshadowed by insider trading charges in Canada against several Amaya Inc.—PokerStars parent company—officials including CEO David Baazov. The charges stem from Amaya’s $4.9 billion acquisition of PokerStars in 2014.
Baazov has vowed to contest the charges and taken a voluntary leave of absence in the meantime.
