WSOP and 888 to Share Some Liquidity in New Jersey

WSOP.com and 888 will share some liquidity at its New Jersey poker sites starting Monday, January 12.  WSOP.com confirmed the news to USPoker on Saturday.

Not all tables will be available on both sites.  WSOP.com tells USPoker that the shared games will be limited to some cash games, sit and gos, and tournaments.  Each site will still have the ability to offer exclusive tables and tournaments.  The first shared liquidity is expected to be at lower limits.  The starting shared weekly tournament guarantee will be $130,000.

Both sites will continue to offer separate promotions, including bonuses and VIP programs.

The partnership between WSOP.com and 888 is possible because both sites use the same software. The player pools have been ring-fenced up to this point.

A similar arrangement is expected in Nevada in preparation of the liquidity sharing agreement between Delaware and Nevada.  888 is the exclusive poker provider in Delaware.  WSOP.com has nearly 100 percent of the market in Nevada.  Sharing liquidity in New Jersey is a step towards potentially sharing players in all three regulated states, should state regulators approve such an arrangement in the future.

888 has seen its traffic grow in recent months, while WSOP.com New Jersey’s traffic has mostly moved sideways, according to stats compiled by PokerScout.

WSOP.com, the second largest New Jersey site in terms of cash game traffic, averages 110 cash players over the past seven days.  888 averages 95 cash players during that same time.  888 is number three in the New Jersey online poker market.

The Borgata/Party Poker site is the largest New Jersey online poker room.  It averages 160 players.  WSOP.com and 888 have enough traffic to overtake Borgata/Party, assuming there is not a substantial overlap of players.

Two New Jersey poker platforms closed in 2014.  Ultimate Poker ceased all New Jersey operations in October.  Betfair closed its poker site in December.  Betfair’s casino site is still active through a partnership with Golden Nugget.