Delaware off to a slow start

The State of Delaware has reported lack-lustre online gaming revenues in the two months since launch, although analysts believe its still early days to gauge its response.

As of the end of December, only 4 000 online gambling registrations had taken place and the gambling commission reported revenues of a mere $253 000.

Over the past week, an average of 18 players were recorded online at any given time as opposed to a few hundred in the states of Nevada and New Jersey.

Issues with financial institutions refusing to process online gambling transactions are said to have had a negative impact along with Delaware’s size and population.

Vernon Kirk, director of the Delware Lottery who oversee gaming still believes there is potential and expects to see an upward trend as operators investments in marketing and promotion come to the fore.

“In and of itself, it’s not going to be the thing that solves everybody’s financial issues,” Kirk said. “It’s a piece of the puzzle, and it’s got a lot of potential.”

According to Kirk, 70 percent of VISA payments and 30 percent of MasterCard payments had been rejected by financial institutions over the period of review.

On a positive note Kirk confirmed ongoing discussions with Nevada and New Jersey on forming an interstate partnership.