Key Takeaways
Pokerstars-fanduel noticed an 80% income leap after rebranding and community growth.
No account migration; gamers had to enroll once more, however many did so rapidly.
Different operators like WSOP and BetMGM additionally noticed income development regardless of new competitors.
FanDuel ran main promotions to draw gamers, together with huge tournaments and bonuses.
After its first month of operation, PokerStars on FanDuel has grow to be the biggest on-line poker web site in New Jersey, in keeping with the most recent figures launched by the regulator this week.
On the morning of April 1, PokerStars NJ closed its doorways. Hours later, it reemerged as PokerStars-FanDuel: New software program, a brand new three-state community, and new co-branding with one of many world’s largest sportsbooks.
And that transformation reveals clearly within the numbers. In March, the final month of PokerStars NJ, it sat fourth within the rankings, producing lower than $500k in income. In April, below FanDuel Poker, it jumped to income of virtually $770k. It surpassed Borgata, BetMGM, and WSOP to grow to be the biggest on-line poker web site in New Jersey.
It marks a significant change within the panorama of on-line poker in NJ. For over a yr, WSOP was the clear market chief. BetMGM had held second place since final summer season. In March 2026, even Borgata — a secondary pores and skin on the BetMGM community — jumped forward of PokerStars into third place.
PokerStars’ income had been in decline for a few years. In 2024, it was the market chief. Then in 2025, BetMGM and WSOP expanded their US on-line poker networks by connecting Pennsylvania with the New Jersey-Michigan participant pool. In the meantime, PokerStars — which, internally, was working in direction of the migration to the FanDuel licenses — sat on the sidelines.
Consequently, PokerStars gave away plenty of floor to its opponents. Every month, it misplaced market share and noticed its income decline.
That decline has now all however reversed in a single month. Income leapt round 80% from March to April, as gamers flocked to the location. It’s a formidable achievement, provided that there was no account migration: All current PokerStars NJ gamers needed to withdraw cash from their outdated accounts, signal as much as FanDuel Poker, redeposit and obtain new software program.
However clearly, they did so in droves, and it’s probably that FanDuel managed to curiosity plenty of current sports activities betting and on line casino prospects to attempt on-line poker too. Leaping to the highest of the market from what was successfully a chilly begin is not any small feat.
Curiously, it seems like PokerStars-FanDuel didn’t appear to poach gamers from different websites. The truth is, different operators additionally gained final month: WSOP NJ was up 3% year-over-year; Borgata was up 1%. BetMGM grew by 33% — which, even for a web site that’s been on the up ever because it expanded its US community final yr, may be very spectacular within the face of such stiff new competitors.
How the market develops from right here shall be fascinating to look at. On the one hand, there’s good motive to assume this is perhaps a short-lived bump for FanDuel Poker. However there’s additionally an argument to be made that they’re simply getting began.
To have a good time the launch, FanDuel began with an enormous Sunday Million weekend of two $500k assured tournaments. It then hosted the large Ignite Collection, which resulted in over $1 million being paid out in overlays. All gamers — together with current FanDuel sports activities and on line casino prospects, and any former PokerStars participant — had been eligible for the huge PokerStars US welcome bonus of a $1,000 deposit match. That probably drove plenty of quantity to the location as gamers labored off the bonus.
This summer season, consideration will shift to WSOP On-line as gamers flock to Las Vegas to play the stay collection. It’s the solely web site accessible in Nevada and runs on-line bracelet occasions over the summer season. This may certainly appeal to gamers.
Wanting forward, there’s additionally nonetheless the anticipated launch of BetRivers Poker New Jersey. This was anticipated within the first months of 2026, however has been delayed for unknown causes. However when it does launch within the state, it should type the primary five-state on-line poker community within the US.
However there’s additionally good motive to imagine that PokerStars-FanDuel is simply getting began. For the primary month, the crew needed to cope with quite a lot of points. There have been issues with the software program platform: Playtech’s iPoker software program had by no means been deployed in North America earlier than, so there have been understandably points. Gamers additionally confronted geolocation points, cashier and pockets bugs, and different rising pains.
With a lot of this within the rearview mirror, we are able to anticipate the crew to begin specializing in the product and rising the participant base. We’re already seeing ensures on the weekly schedule enhance because it finds its footing and positive factors confidence in participant turnout. We anticipate to listen to plans of a summer season collection quickly, and earlier than the yr is on the market may even be growth into a brand new US state.
