Poll: Will UK liquidity pool boost New Jersey market?
Gambling Commission and New Jersey regulator have agreed a deal "in principle"
The UK and New Jersey are understood to be getting progressively closer on a deal to share poker liquidity between the two jurisdictions, it emerged last week.
Operators active in both countries, like 888 and PokerStars, have been asked for their opinions on the issue and PokerStars in particular is said to be optimistic the regulatory and technical issues can be worked out.
An Amaya spokesperson told eGaming Review: “We always welcome conversation around smart, sensible regulation that protects consumers, grows poker globally and allows adults to play a game that they love in the safety of their own home.”
The deal is intended to help a spluttering New Jersey market which saw revenues drop almost 24% between May and June.
Several New Jersey operators have complained the poker market is too small to allow pros to make a living, thus robbing them of their most profitable players.
A trans-Atlantic compact could give New Jersey firms access to approximately two million UK poker players, which would almost certainly boost liquidity and likely help reverse that slump.
Conversely, detractors have argued the time difference between the two countries will dampen any upswing, since New Jersey peak time is between 6p and 9pm, equivalent to 11pm to 1am in the UK.
And given the myriad of technical and regulatory factors involved in getting a liquidity sharing platform in place, any positive impact would have to be considerable to be worthwhile.
The move might also face opposition from WSOP/888 and PartyPoker, both of which have significantly smaller player bases in the UK than PokerStars and would essentially be handing their rival another competitive edge.
With that in mind, this week’s poll wants to know whether you believe shared liquidity will provide a major boost to the New Jersey poker market. Have your say on the right-hand side of the page.