Nevada October Online Poker Revenues Lowest Ever

The U.S. state of Nevada may have been the first state to regulate and establish the online gaming industry, but that has not translated into big numbers and revenues.

At least that’s the impression one gets when viewing the state’s online poker revenues for the month of October, which totalled $665,000. That is the lowest amount ever recorded since the launch of online poker in the Silver State early last year.

It also marks Nevada's fifth straight month of declines in total online poker revenues.

October’s monthly revenue was 47% lower than the revenue collected in October last year, and 35% less than the peak of just under $1.4 million that was recorded in June.

There is also the possibility that revenues may fall further in following months given that October’s total revenues included Ultimate Poker.

Ultimate Poker announced earlier this month that it was to close its metaphorical doors after achieving lower than expected revenues in Nevada. That leaves just WSOP.com and Real Gaming as the two online poker operators in the state.

It is likely that some players who have traditionally played on the Ultimate Poker site may now move to WSOP.com, which may keep revenues steady or even increase them.

However, there is also the potential for some online poker players in Nevada to abandon regulated online poker completely in favour of the many live poker games that are available in the state.

Should this occur, revenues may fall even further, which would put Nevada’s online poker industry under serious scrutiny.

There is also the possibility that the fall in online poker revenues for October was simply part of the total fall in general gaming revenues in the state for the month.

According to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, land-based casino revenues fell to $913.6 million in October, which was a 4.3% decrease from the previous month.

The month’s revenue figures also marked the third straight month that land-based casino revenues have fallen in Nevada.

Nevada’s online poker industry is likely to remain viable for the remaining established networks, especially WSOP.com, which has the highest market share.

However, should low online gaming revenues continue to persist in the future, it is unlikely that any other networks will consider setting up shop in Nevada as it will not be viewed as viable.