2016 WSOP Currently Underway in Vegas to Boost iPoker Revenues

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Monday, June 6th, 2016 | Written by Charles Washington

The 2016 World Series of Poker is currently into its second week in Las Vegas, with thousands of poker players from the U.S. and around the world descending upon Sin City hoping to win big, and walk away having captured a gold winners bracelet. Needless to say, the state receives a significant boost from gaming revenues and tourism spending at this time of year, especially with the prestigious series lasting for more than six weeks. As WSOP executive director Ty Stewart commented ahead of the 47th annual WSOP:

“It’s hard to fathom that this event can continue to grow the way it has. But with the schedule we’ve put together for this year, we are confident 2016 will be another record-breaker at the WSOP.”

In the meantime, Nevada’s online poker market basically consisting of wSOP.com also benefits from the increase in traffic generated by the WSOP, which is just as well as the rest of the time it appears to be just ticking along at a low ebb. Despite its annual uptick in traffic, however, Las Vegas has received no encouragement from New Jersey concerning its request that they form an interstate iPoker compact.

More Liquidity, Better Experience

It’s a simple fact that more players allows for a better online poker experience. That’s why countries around the world with small populations have already entered, or are presently considering joining player pooling compacts that allow shared liquidity with players from other nations. In the United States, such a compact has yet to coalesce, and recently, the Governor of Nevada made it clear that he’s not the one standing in the way of such a development.

Why Liquidity Matters

For most online businesses, the ultimate goal is to bring in as many customers as possible, but online poker sites have a different aim. Sites must focus on liquidity or having enough players online at any given time to make games possible. In order for a game to be played, an online poker room must have nine players present at a time. When there aren’t enough players available for a game to begin, users grow impatient and leave. In a state like Nevada or Delaware where the population is already limited, a lack of liquidity can be the ruination of an online poker site. Even entire countries like the United Kingdom have struggled with liquidity issues.

Sandoval’s Frustration

At a recent Nevada Gaming Policy Committee hearing, Governor Brian Sandoval said that he was “perplexed” as to why New Jersey has been reluctant to enter an online poker interstate compact with Nevada. While he wasn’t overly critical of the Garden State, Sandoval did sound frustrated when he said that he was surprised Governor Chris Christie had failed to approve a proposed compact with Nevada. Nevada has also been in talks with the United Kingdom to launch a compact either with the state alone, or with Nevada and New Jersey.

What’s Behind Christie’s Move

When you consider the fact that more liquidity is always a good thing when it comes to online poker, it does seem surprising that Chris Christie wouldn’t be open to the idea of joining forces with Nevada. There is some speculation that the Governor feels that such an agreement won’t do much to benefit New Jersey, as their player pull is more than 250 percent that of the player pool of Nevada and Delaware combined.

The Truth About the Proposed Compact

Although Christie may feel that there is nothing for New Jersey to gain by partnering with Nevada, he’s incorrect. While New Jersey is not suffering from the same liquidity problems as Nevada, the Garden State’s online gaming market has fallen significantly short of the $1 billion in annual revenues Christie had promised pre- legalization. At this point, the market is only making around $120 to $150 million per year. Increasing liquidity could give the numbers a bump. Teaming up with Nevada would also be a sign of solidarity for gambling-friendly states, and that sort of strong statement could help to quiet the opposition against online gaming coming from powerful voices like Sheldon Adelson.

Currently the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement is reportedly considering the interstate compact, so the deal isn’t off the table completely. In the meantime, we’ll just have to keep an eye out as to how much of an impact this year’s WSOP will have on Nevada’s online poker industry, and how that might soften New Jersey’s stance on the subject.