When it was announced that PokerStars would reenter the U.S. market via New Jersey, it was assumed an insane amount of money would be poured into advertising to get players to flock to the site.
Now that the soft launch is upon us, it's become clear that PokerStars is looking to rely on brand and gaming experience to gain market share rather than throwing money at NJ players.
Limited Promotions to This Point
The biggest surprise thus far has been the lack of promotions that PokerStars has announced in connection with its full relaunch on March 21.
The only real “promotional offer” announced is the “We Are New Jersey” $25,000 freeroll on March 27. This freeroll will pay $5,000 to first place.
Otherwise, PokerStars hasn’t announced any type of sign-up bonus for new players yet. Players that had accounts pre-Black Friday can reclaim their usernames and have their VPP’s converted to StarsCoin, but that’s it.
PokerStars has a thread over on the 2+2 forums where it says additional promotions will be offered after launch, but one would have assumed that the PokerStars marketing machine would have done much more before now.
Is There a Larger Plan Behind PokerStars’ Present Strategy?
For now, it appears that PokerStars is relying solely on past popularity and a superior product to bring in New Jersey customers.
Granted, this isn’t the worst strategy in the world, as the push to return in the state has been ongoing for years.
However, one has to wonder if this isn’t part of a larger plan or maybe an arrangement agreed to with the Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE).
The concern has always been that PokerStars would swoop in, dominate the market and leave other operators in shambles.
With the popularity of casino gaming in New Jersey, it is hard to see that scenario unfolding.
However, is it possible that the DGE requested that PokerStars come in softly in the early weeks in order to lessen the impact on the other online poker operators?
It is assumed that PokerStars will ultimately become the top online poker operator in the state so perhaps the DGE asked to hold off on the promotional blitz to prevent the mass exodus effect some have predicted.
What would be the purpose behind such a move? Stability in the overall iPoker market. This is something that the state has struggled with for over a year.
It would be harder for the other sites to recover from a drastic drop in online poker traffic brought on by a full on assault by PokerStars on the market.
However, a softer approach by the company will still allow PokerStars to gain significant market share while allowing other sites a chance to stay competitive.
PokerStars Soft Launch Underway
PokerStars has begun its soft launch and will continue to do so through the weekend. On the March 19 and 20 the site will operate 24 hours for the first time.
If testing goes well, PokerStars NJ officially opens to the public on Monday.
We will find out soon afterwards just how popular the brand is in the state and begin to get an idea of the impact on the overall market.
We should also find out what games and tournaments we can expect. The next couple of weeks will be an exciting time for New Jersey and a successful launch should help usher in a new era for PokerStars in the United States.
Now if we can just get California lawmakers to pass an iPoker bill, perhaps we can finally start playing on PokerStars CA.