In a landmark move for Pennsylvania’s online poker, Governor Josh Shapiro has signed an agreement for Pennsylvania to join the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA), bringing the state into the shared online market and contributing to the growth of online poker in the U.S.
MSIGA is an interstate poker compact that seeks to bring online poker back to the U.S market in a big way. A legally-binding agreement, it must be signed by the governors of the participating states. MSIGA allows online poker operators to integrate their platforms to enable multi-state games.
With the latest expansion, Pennsylvania becomes the sixth and the largest state to enter the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement, joining five other states like New Jersey, Nevada, Michigan, Delaware, and West Virginia.
Starting April 28, online poker operators will start integrating their platforms, allowing Pennsylvanian online poker players to compete against players from New Jersey, Michigan, Nevada, and Delaware in the multi-state games, which kick off on April 28 and include BetMGM and PA Borgata Online and others expected to join soon after.
“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,” said Governor Shapiro. “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.
Benefits for Players and US Online Poker Scene
Pennsylvania leads the way in terms of contributing to tax revenue among the legal U.S. gaming jurisdictions, generating over $2.7 billion every year from its 17 casinos and 22 online gaming platforms. Being the largest state in the shared online market with more than 38 million Americans, the state is expected to boost player pool up to 50% with 150,000 online players.
The larger player pool as a result of this expansion will lead to more action, games and bigger prize pools without a need for an increase in buy-ins.
The massive increase in the number of participants will also ensure increased game selection options and improved competitive environment, bringing opportunity to compete with a diverse pool of skill players from multiple states and contributing to the growth of the online poker scene in the U.S.
This is a landmark step forward to not only expand Pennsylvania’s online poker market but also to strengthen the overall online poker ecosystem in the U.S. According to Shapiro, more states are likely to join in, which means more Americans will be able to compete in this great game of poker.
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Source: PENNSYLVANIA GAMING CONTROL BOARD
