Since April, Nevada has been enjoying its place as the only regulated online poker market in the United States. With two other states, New Jersey and Delaware, ramping up their online gaming efforts for a debut by the end of 2013, many in the gaming industry are wondering if Nevada will be left in the dust when those two operations come online.
There are several reasons for this speculation. Station Casinos and Ultimate Gaming opened up Ultimate Poker (and passed through the stringent requirements of the Nevada Gaming Control Board) in April to rave reviews, but no other online poker site has yet to come online in the Silver State. Although WSOP.com, operated by Caesars Entertainment and 888.com, was teased about tremendously during this summer’s World Series of Poker, several assumed launch dates have come and gone and, as of September, there is no word as to when WSOP.com will make its appearance on the Nevada online poker scene.
Other online poker sites in Nevada have probably not come on due to one thing: a lack of customers. Players can register to play on sites from outside of Nevada, but the geolocation software required by the NGCB strictly enforces that players must be in the state to take part in any activities. With only 2.7 million residents in the state as of the 2010 Census, the cost of putting a product on the market may not be worth the effort to some potential operators.
That factor is fueling the speculation that New Jersey will be able to blast past Nevada if it is able to come online by November, as is the plan (Delaware, with its roughly 900,000 residents, is going to have difficulties due to numbers as well). New Jersey boasts a population of 8.79 million (according to the 2010 Census) and may now be over the 9 million mark (11th in the United States). With an active gaming scene in Atlantic City, the citizens of the Garden State will have the appetite when New Jersey’s online gaming industry does come to life.
There is one other factor that lies in waiting to see if New Jersey can eclipse Nevada. When Nevada enacted its regulations in 2012, it was for poker only operations. Perhaps as a concession to the live casino industry, the Nevada state government potentially thought that, if there were full-fledged online casino gaming, it would hurt the bottom line for live casinos throughout the state.
In New Jersey (and Delaware also), there is no such fear. When the regulations in the state of New Jersey were passed, it was for a full online casino operation that would look to add to the appeal of their live casino businesses. Instead of shying away from full online gaming, New Jersey embraced it wholeheartedly.
A final caveat in the mix may be the players in the game. While popular outlets such as 888 Holdings and others are licensed in Nevada, the monolith of the online poker industry, PokerStars, has been shut out due to clauses in the regulation that any operator who offered gaming to the U. S. after 2006 would have to wait five years before entering the market. In New Jersey, PokerStars has applied for an online gaming license (with Resorts International per New Jersey regulations, although it has yet to be approved) that will bring them back to the United States, much to the delight of many who may take part in the New Jersey scene.
Although they were the first to enter into the fray, it does appear that, barring any changes in their regulations or a rapid opening of outlets, Nevada will be blasted out of the water when the New Jersey online gaming scene opens up (the New Jersey Gaming Control Commission says all is a go for launch in November, while Delaware expects to be open by year’s end). With full online gaming, the behemoth that is PokerStars (if they are approved) and a vastly larger population, the gaming scene in New Jersey could definitely be enriched and Nevada could be left wondering what might have been.
