Governor Josh Shapiro has signed an agreement to allow Pennsylvania to join the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA) for poker in a significant moment for the sector.
Pennsylvania will now pool its players with New Jersey, Nevada, Delaware, West Virginia, and Michigan in MSIGA.
For the estimated 150,000 poker players in the Keystone State, the pool of players to compete with will expand by 50% as part of the interstate partnership.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board said the addition of the state to MSIGA would mean the shared market now covers more than 38 million Americans.
Effusing the benefits of MSIGA, the regulator said it would allow for larger prize pools for its players without an increase in buy-in amounts.
Pennsylvania’s poker players will also be “assured” they are using a “fair and thoroughly tested platform” now that they are a part of MSIGA, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board noted.
Online poker players in Pennsylvania will be able to join in multi-state games from 28 April, starting with BetMGM and PA Borgata Online. Other operators are expected to join soon.
Upon signing the agreement, Shapiro said: “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.
“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.”
Angus Nisbet, BetMGM VP of gaming, added: “Pennsylvania represents the largest state to join the shared player pool and turbocharges our poker 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.”
Shapiro initially expressed support to join MSIGA last October. Last month, Connecticut proposed new legislation that would allow the state to join MSIGA.
In its latest financial report, Pennsylvania recorded online poker revenue of $2.6m for the month of March.
The post Pennsylvania signs deal to join Multi-State Internet Agreement first appeared on EGR Intel.
Keystone State joins five others in signing up to compact, expanding the player and prize pool for online poker across the US
The post Pennsylvania signs deal to join Multi-State Internet Agreement first appeared on EGR Intel.