BetMGM PA and Borgata PA, the two newest poker operators in Pennsylvania, continued to slowly grow their revenue and market share in June, data from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) show.
But growth by the state’s two newest poker rooms wasn’t enough to offset lower earnings by market leader PokerStars PA. That translated into a 7% decline in online poker revenue overall, which totaled $2.4 million in June.
PGCB data show online poker is beginning to stabilize from the pandemic year, with the market down 25% year-to-year in June. That marked an improvement from figures that showed the market was off 43.5% year-to-year in May and a high of 55% in April.
PokerStars PA and its Mount Airy partner are likely to continue to lose market share in July following the mid-month entry of WSOP PA.
BetMGM, Borgata Continue Growth
According to the PGCB, BetMGM and its Hollywood Casino partner had $325k in revenue in June, up from $279k in May. Their market share grew to 13.5%, up from 10.5%.
Meanwhile, Borgata and its Rivers-Philadelphia partner had $79k in gross revenue from online poker in June, up from $67k. Borgata’s market share increased to 3.3%, up from 2.5%.
The newcomers combined for 16.8% of a market that PokerStars had all to itself until April. BetMGM and Borgata also have an advantage on their PokerStars rival as they share a single player pool running on partypoker software.
Although BetMGM and Borgata officially opened their online poker rooms in late April, revenue figures for that month are considered preliminary because their soft launch occurred three days before the end of the month and took place mid-week, not over a weekend.
Here Comes WSOP PA
After much anticipation, WSOP PA launched in the Keystone State on July 12, with PGCB officials conducting a few days of systems tests during a soft-launch period. A full launch followed on July 16.
WSOP and its land-based casino partner, Harrah’s Philadelphia, are offering poker through its partnership with UK gaming giant 888. Both the casino and the WSOP brand are owned by Caesars.
The launch marked the first time that US players could use 888’s new Poker 8 software, a significant upgrade from the company’s classic 888 desktop and mobile apps. Poker 8 allows concurrent play at up to four tables, and its app supports Omaha games. The upgrade includes new table themes, avatars, animations and sound effects, as well as revamped functionality and site navigation.
Like its counterparts in the state, WSOP PA is only available to players physically located in Pennsylvania. The state’s player pool will remain ring-fenced until Pennsylvania either forms or join an interstate compact like the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA), which currently includes Delaware, Nevada and New Jersey. The interstate 888/WSOP network, the only one of its kind currently operating in the US, is expected to get a huge boost should Pennsylvania decide to join the MSIGA or form its own compact with other states.
WSOP.com, known to offer generous promotions, continued the practice with its entry into Pennsylvania. Shortly after the soft launch, the operator announced a $50,000 Depositor’s Freeroll and said it would award three tickets to this fall’s $10,000 Main Event at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas.
PokerStars Revenue Continues Slide
PokerStars online poker revenue was just north of $2 million in June, down from $2.2 million in May. It was the sixth consecutive month where poker revenue declined, with June marking the operators lowest total since February 2020. It was also the PokerStars’ third-lowest month in terms of online poker revenue and market share, after February 2020 ($1.8 million) and November 2019, the market’s opening month (just under $2 million).
Still, PokerStars/Mount Airy continues to dominate the space with an 83.3% market share, down from 86.7% in May.
To date, both PokerStars and the state’s online poker market peaked between March and July of 2020, coinciding with pandemic lockdowns and a surge in interest in the game. The peak hit $5.3 million in April 2020.
