From today (28 April), online poker players in Pennsylvania will be able to compete with millions of players across the US.
This follows State Governor Josh Shapiro signing an agreement accepting Pennsylvania as the sixth member of the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA) for poker.
As a result, the estimated 150,000 online poker participants in Pennsylvania will be able to join players in New Jersey, Nevada, and Michigan.
Delaware and West Virginia have also signed the agreement, however, neither state is home to any live poker operators.
Shapiro commented: “This is a common sense step to support hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians, grow our economy, and bring in more revenue to support our schools, our seniors, our small businesses, and more.
“Three of our neighbours are already part of this agreement – and with this action today, we’re making sure Pennsylvania remains competitive in a rapidly growing online market.
Pennsylvania will now take its place as the biggest state within the agreement, which currently covers more than 38 million Americans.
MSIGA was first signed by Delaware and Nevada in 2014, and prior to Pennsylvania’s entry, Michigan was the latest state to join the agreement in 2022.
Founded in response to the state-by-state nature of the US’s regulatory landscape, the pact allows poker contests among players from the participating states, therefore increasing both player and prize pools.
Initially, BetMGM and BorgataPoker will be the first sites to go live at 9 am ET (2 pm BST), however, other licensed operators in the state are expected to offer cross-state poker in the near future.
“Pennsylvania represents the largest state to join the shared player pool and turbocharges our poker platform,” said BetMGM Vice President of Gaming, Angus Nisbet.
“This expanded player pool will allow us to deliver more games and bigger tournaments to our players. BetMGM Poker is ready to celebrate the growth of our shared liquidity network throughout the spring and summer in a variety of ways.”
To celebrate the expansion, BetMGM Poker is offering a $35,000 freeroll on 29 April. In addition to cash prizes, the winner will also receive a $5,000 package to the BetMGM Poker Championship at Aria Casino in Las Vegas.
Other regulated online poker sites in Pennsylvania include WSOP Online and PokerStars. WSOP currently compacts players across Nevada, New Jersey and Michigan, while PokerStars shares player pools in Michigan and New Jersey.
