Harrington Raceway’s Online Revenues Increased 81% in March
Delaware’s monthly online gambling numbers were the best yet for the state. Due to population considerations, Delaware will never have the kind of numbers nearby New Jersey posts each month.
Despite the smaller figures, the gaming revenues are a key part of the finance picture for the state’s gambling interests. At a time when the legislature is considering a $20 million bailout package for the state’s 3 racetracks, every bit of money counts.
Numbers up 24% in March
The March 2014 numbers were up 24% from where they were in February 2014. This kind of growth suggests Internet gambling could become a key factor in saving the three pari-mutuel racecourses: Harrington Raceway & Casino, Dover Downs, and Delaware Park. The turnover at the gaming sites controlled by these three racing entities totaled $5.45 million in March. Net revenues cleared two-hundred thousand mark all the way to $206,833.
The gain in total wagering was even more impressive, seeing that the total for February 2014 was only $2.86 million. The $2.59 million increase represents nearly a 100% boost in gaming action, which suggests that the overall total revenues still have room for a significant boost. One might normally expect a 24% increase in revenues to be the result of a 24% boost in gambling activity, but the difference in those two numbers indicates that high stakes gamblers had a good month in Delaware. That number will even out over time, allowing Delaware’s racinos to post much higher numbers.
Projected $2.5 Million Yearly Totals
Even if you projected out the March numbers to a yearly total, it would represent a projection of $2.5 million over the course of a year. That is over 10% of the money being discussed in the bailout plan
Analyzing the Numbers
Of course, March is a longer month than February, by 3 days. With a 10% increase in days, one would have expected a 10% increase in revenues, even if no real growth happened. Still, that leaves plenty of room for the state’s regulators to boast of the increase.
Table games were the biggest revenue producer in the state, with almost $95,000 in total revenues. Online poker was the next highest producer, with over $84,000 of the net revenues. Video lottery product sales added $27,476 to the net revenue total.
Delaware Online Poker Future Looks Good
The poker totals are important to note. In New Jersey, these numbers have been trailing the casino table games by a significant margin. The small size of Delaware’s population suggests that their poker rooms would receive scant activity, because a good online card room needs plenty of gamblers to fill out 9-player tables at various bet limits and for different variants of the game. To have iPoker provide over 40% of the revenues is therefore a good sign.
Those numbers could increase significantly in the coming months. In early March, the governors of Delaware and Nevada signed an intrastate online poker compact, allowing gamblers in either state to register accounts. Nevada players could register and play at a Delaware Internet poker site, though the operators are likely going to need to provide incentives for the Nevada players to leave sites operated by more famous Las Vegas Strip companies.
Delaware Park Is the Leader
Delaware Park continues to be the big winner among the state’s online gambling websites. The Delaware Park online operations collected 64% of the revenue in March. Dover Downs came in second with 24% of the revenues. Harrington Raceway, though it only collected 12% of the revenue, is beginning to show major growth. The amounts wagered on the site were up 130%, while revenues were up 81%.
One area of concern is the low number of signups in March. Only 640 new people registered accounts in March 2014, down 8% from the February 2014 signup totals. This is likely the result of a tail-off, as the most enthusiastic gamblers in the state likely have signed up already.
Another area of concern is the relative revenue totals for New Jersey, which had over $11 million in net revenues in March. That represents 57 times the amount of money collected in Delaware, though New Jersey has a population only 10 times larger than Delaware’s. It is thought this discrepancy is due to the large number of gambling tourists who come to the state. They can gamble online, once inside the state’s boundaries.
