Pennsylvania Joins Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement

Pennsylvania has officially joined the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA), giving more poker players within the state more betting options. According to a report from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB), the Coal State is the sixth member state. They will join the following states such as Delaware, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, and West Virginia.

With their addition to the MSIGA, online poker operators can now legally provide their games to the aforementioned states. Doug Harbach, PGCB Communications Director, expects that the majority of operators could begin sharing their liquidity as soon as possible.

This change allows over 150,000 Pennsylvania poker players to join, significantly growing the player pool by 50%. As a result, Pennsylvania, with over 38 million residents, now ranks as the largest state in the shared market.

Pennsylvania Lawmakers Were Working on the MSIGA since Last Year

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro stated that negotiations between the PGCB and the MSIGA began in October last year. Such initiative aims to improve the Coal State’s economy, while safeguarding their online poker players,

“This is a commonsense 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.”

Gov. Shapiro adds that Pennsylvania’s inclusion to the MSIGA is a future-proofing move for their real money online casino industry,

“Three of our neighbors 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 was the no.1 poker market before Michigan and New Jersey joined the MSIGA. The Coal State’s larger population and player base position it to reclaim the top spot in the poker market. Consequently, bigger player pools lead to increased prize pools, attracting even more competition.

Which Online Poker Operators are Ready to Accommodate Players?

The PGCB announced operators may launch networked markets starting Monday, April 28. Meanwhile, BetMGM Poker and Borgata Poker confirmed their platforms will be ready.

Angus Nisbet, BetMGM’s VP of Gaming, noted that Pennsylvania joining the MSIGA turbocharges their platform,

“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,” Nisbet added.

PokerStars may also launch next week, as it led Michigan’s market rollout in 2022. Similarly, WSOP followed closely and already has software to include players from Delaware, Nevada, and New Jersey.

BetRivers Poker will likely be the last operator to network players across states. The platform launched in Pennsylvania last November, which means that it may need more time to develop multi-state capabilities. Nevertheless, it still ranks among the best online casinos for poker fans.