A Betfair spokesperson announced that the company’s poker site, available for residents of New Jersey, was shut down on December 1. This, however, will by no means influence the operations of the state’s casino platform or any of the poker sites, operated outside the United States.
The index page of the New Jersey poker site is no longer available. A Google cached webpage version redirects visitors to an offline install guide. What is more, no poker tables can be seen when one enters the platform.
According to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, Betfair reported a poker rake of $0 for October. Furthermore, it earned only $1 back in September. The poker operator generated as much as $50 for the period between January 1 and October 31. Betfair also collected a total of $90 in commission fees for the five weeks of its operation back in 2013.
It is quite obvious that the London-based gaming operator was not a major factor on the New Jersey online poker market, despite the bonuses it offered. For instance, first-time withdrawals were granted a 40% rakeback bonus. There was also a special program for VIP members that guaranteed a 20% rakeback bonus.
Previously, it was announced that Golden Nugget and Betfair would start a joint project, which was to be called Ongame New Jersey. Golden Nugget was allowed by the local regulatory body to launch its product three weeks after its rivals. The poker operator promised to start its operations in the very beginning of 2014. It seems, however, that its project failed.
Betfair’s online casino games appear to have done quite well in New Jersey compared to its poker platform. The company posted a total profit of $855,869 generated from casino operations in October. In addition, it generated the amount of $6,677,288 in the first ten months of 2014.
On November 21, the UK-listed gaming operator joined Golden Nugget’s online operations. Thus, the two companies now hold 25% of the online casino market in the Garden State.
In addition to this, Betfair worked together with another prominent online gaming provider – Caesars Interactive. The reason for this temporary collaboration was for the British operator to keep on offering its services even after Trump Plaza, its first partner, left the Atlantic City market back on September 16.
Betfair was not the only poker site to shut down in New Jersey. Only a month and a half ago, Ultimate Poker announced that it was leaving the local online poker market.
Currently, 888, WSOP.com and Borgata/Party Poker are the three operators that provide their poker services in the state of New Jersey.
