Players across four US states will now be able to compete against each other on BetRivers Poker’s platform.
After launching in Pennsylvania in November, the operator’s parent company, Rush Street Interactive (RSI), has expanded its online poker platform to Delaware, Michigan and West Virginia.
Following the expansion, players in all four states will be able to compete against each other across state lines, increasing tournament player and prize pools.
Richard Schwartz, CEO of RSI, commented: “By expanding the network, we’ll bring more players to our tables, offer a wider variety of games and raise the stakes with larger tournament prize pools.
“We’re thrilled to strengthen our poker footprint and deliver best-in-class competition and community-driven play across multiple states.”
By launching in Delaware and West Virginia, BetRivers Poker has become the only legal online poker platform in both states. RSI also intends to launch in a fifth state, New Jersey, later this year.
Pennsylvania joins shared player pool
Earlier this year, Pennsylvania’s State Governor, Josh Shapiro, signed an agreement accepting Pennsylvania as the sixth member of the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA) for poker.
In doing so, it allows an estimated 150,000 online poker players to compete against players in New Jersey, Nevada, Michigan, Delaware and West Virginia.
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.
“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,” said Shapiro at the time of the announcement.
BetRivers Poker becomes the second brand to operate a four-state poker network, after the World Series of Poker brand pooled its poker platform across New Jersey, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Nevada.
If BetRivers does expand to New Jersey, it would become the first operator to run a five-state online poker network.
