Delaware Online Poker Revenue Update

Online poker operators and regulators in the US state of Delaware are likely breathing a sigh of relief this week after last month’s revenue figures were officially revealed. The figures show that online poker revenue in the small American state increased by nearly 11% compared to July’s revenue.

Delaware registered US$31,248 in online poker revenue in August, compared to the US$28,158 that was reported by the state in July. The figures seems disturbingly low at first glance – most of us probably earn more than August’s revenue in a single year of work.

However, one must keep in mind that Delaware is the second smallest state in the US and the total population is just 935,000. In that context, the double-digit percentage increase in revenue is great news for Delaware’s online poker industry, especially given the trend in online poker throughout most of 2015.

The state currently has three online gaming operators, but only two of them actually posted increased in online poker revenue in August. Dover Downs and Delaware Park both had strong months in terms of finance, with monthly revenue increases of 22 and 13% respectively. Harrington Raceway, the smallest of the three sites, did not fare as well, having posted a monthly revenue decrease of 13.5%.

Although the increase in online poker revenue is a positive piece of news for Delaware, there is a not so positive element to the latest revenue figures. August’s online poker revenue represented a year-on-year decrease of 19%, which shows that the state’s online poker sector still has a long way to go before it returns to its peak numbers.

Given the small size of Delaware’s online market, and the unique circumstances associated with being such a small market, the revenue increase cannot really be used as an indication of how the other states may fare in the coming months. However, the revenue increase does show that there are still many players out there who are interested in playing online poker.

This is a positive sign to operators throughout the US, and even beyond, given that there has been an exodus of players from the overwhelming majority of online poker sites for the best part of this year. That could motivate online poker sites to boost their marketing campaigns as a way to attract players onto their networks.