Get Ready To Dive In To Shared Online Gambling Player Pools

[toc]When it comes to diving, the size of the splash has a huge impact on a competitor’s score. A small splash is ideal, while a big splash is a catastrophe.

If online poker in the US were diving, lately it would be generating perfect splash scores. You barely notice it’s here. That all will hopefully change though. News just broke New Jersey, Nevada, and Delaware are going to pool players.

The hope is by teaming up, these states can take their small ponds and turn them into a pool that will bring new players to the game. These states are not the only group thinking about the kind of splash teaming up could create either.

The sports betting world is on the verge of a game-changing court case. A positive decision could mean any state could start taking wagers. However, teaming up with their online gambling peers could make for a cannonball of an impact shoudl the sports betting pool go nationwide.

Here’s more on the casino industry
pool party.

It’s a pool party in NV, NJ, and DE

The breaking news on Friday is huge for online poker players in the United States. The three states where online poker is legal and regulated agreed to pool players.

Nevada and Delaware have a previous player deal in place. New Jersey’s participation is a huge deal for all three groups though. While it will take at least a few months to actually see tables with players from all three states, it is positive news for an industry without much to celebrate these days.

Poker stalling online and in casinos in NJ and NV

Here is hoping this player pooling move is the shot in the arm poker needs. After all, looking elsewhere, it sure seems poker is in a slump.

For example, numbers out of Nevada casinos suggest a couple of disheartening things. As expected, live poker room traffic is right back to regular-season norms this September. The World Series of Poker (WSOP) surge is officially over.

Considering the long term though, there are even more startling. The poker boom is busted. Poker-room revenues are at pre-boom levels when the WSOP is not in town. Plus, even when WSOP is around, the spike in traffic around Vegas poker tables is nowhere near what it used to be.

Across the country, it is much happier news in New Jersey. For the seventh-straight month, NJ online casinos generated over $20 million in revenue. Now the online components of Atlantic City casinos comprises 10 percent of total income.

Resultingly, the brick and mortar casinos in New Jersey are on the verge of a second-straight year of revenue growth. So much for those cannibalism arguments, right?

There is a downside though. The casino revenue keeps growing rapidly online. The online poker market does not. Now, the sites are collectively struggling to generate $2 million in revenue each month. The hope is the player pooling can turn things around.

Here’s hoping, as live poker from online providers is not doing the trick. PokerStars NJ tried a second time to host a live Atlantic City poker event, only for it to result in major overlays.

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While poker needs a boost, sports betting continues to boom

One thing poker and sports betting has in common is that the future is in flux. Both are currently niche markets. While poker had its moment to go big and could not sustain, sports bettors think their moment will come next year.

The US Supreme Court will rule on the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) early next year. Even a partial repeal could result in widespread sports betting across the country.

However, Steve Ruddock of PlayNJ claims the turning point for both betting and online gambling hinges on where the industries go from here.

More specifically, it is all about whether or not betting goes online.  As Nevada proved, the big boost to the wagering industry comes from online sports betting apps. These apps brought in an entirely new audience of small-stakes, recreational bettors.

If sports betting wants to fully reach its potential, states considering sports wagering legislation needs to consider tying in online betting as well.

If you want some proof, look no further than the first-ever Vegas Golden Knights home game at T-Mobile Arena this week. Thanks to online betting and new interest in the NHL expansion team, William Hill had the most action on a pro hockey game it ever had. Unfortunately for the book, the money came in on Vegas, then went right back out after the team won by a score of 5-2.

Photo by Paolo Bona / Shutterstock.com