Governor Shapiro Signs Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement, Bringing Pennsylvania Into Shared Online Poker Market PGCB
He was able to work with another lawmaker representing Whitmer’s views to work out a compromise-laden bill to amend the original one. Governor Tom Wolf signed it into law in the first week of November. The industry was authorized to operate for a 10-year period, at which point it will be examined for a possible extension.
Legislators in the Cowboy State recently introduced a bill to legalize iGaming, including online poker. Amidst ongoing concerns about upcoming tax changes for poker players due to Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” Doug Polk became an outspoken advocate for reversing the changes. Black Friday didn’t help, as the affiliate model in the US just can’t survive promoting solely regulated online poker, and there isn’t money to have competing updates teams at the WSOP anymore. Poker players during that era had television identities, online personas, forum reputations, and private selves that could be very different from one another.
Washington State made online poker a Class C felony, so it’s unlikely that the Evergreen State will pass any legislation in the foreseeable future. Some say the Golden State will pass some form of regulated online poker soon, and California has two online bills on the table in 2026. Nevada and Delaware have since formed the first interstate gambling compact, allowing each state to share player pools from the other. Later in the same year of the Black Friday raids, the DoJ relaxed their stance on the outdated Wire Act and decided that the law DIDN’T apply to online poker afterall. Players’ funds were seized, and while some were paid back fairly quickly, others had their funds held back for years, and only now are some of those American online players beginning to receive their cash at long last.
The MSIGA has made strides, linking player pools in New Jersey, Nevada, Michigan, and Delaware, but its reach is still limited. Its digital tools help players track their time, set limits, and stay in control, aligning with modern calls for “Mindful Screen Time.” If anyone can be credited with igniting America’s online poker boom, it’s Chris Moneymaker. Later in 2011, the DOJ shifted its stance and opened the door for states to regulate online gambling individually.
Online lottery has a bill under review now, but poker, daily fantasy sports and casino could happen fast here if an omnibus approach is taken to the legislation. No Legal Online Pokerwith such a low population (of less than 740,000) – a locally-based online gambling industry would struggle to survive. No Legal Online PokerAs one of the most conservative states, it’s highly unlikely that Alabama legislators will ever introduce a bill on gambling in general, much less online poker.
Originally, the plan was to approve licenses for gaming operators in early 2020, but the pandemic changed the state’s course of action. WSOP launched its site on the 888 poker platform in Pennsylvania in 2021, in time to offer WSOP bracelet events online in the state. The current poker sites in the Keystone State include Borgata, partnered through partypoker, Bet MGM, and PokerStars.
Fortunately, Pennsylvania lawmakers eventually came to an agreement in November 2017, and has now become one of the top states for online poker. Four years went by without any state passing an online poker bill after Delaware did so in October 2013. Delaware brings in the lowest revenue from poker among all states with legal poker sites in operation. The Mid-Atlantic state officially signed a pro-online poker bill into legislation October 31, 2013, eight months after Nevada and New Jersey. Delaware is a bit of an afterthought when it comes to online gambling.
But Sen. Matt Klein (D) believes his bill can pass this year while also addressing problem gambling. A Senate Finance Committee hearing was held this week looking at the potential downfalls that can come from gambling addiction. A casino would only be allowed in counties with more than 30,000 residents and would require a petition of 25% of voters in the county. Pritzker has called iGaming “worthy of consideration” and if poker is included, that could add a state with a population of 12.6 million to the MSIGA, just below Pennsylvania. Virginia has a population of 8.7 million and would be a nice boost to the MSIGA for poker. “This legislation will bring Maryland into the future while providing critical funding for education and other essential services.”
The end of 2021 showed more than $32.4M in online poker revenue, which increased slightly in 2022 to $33.7M. In 2020, PokerStars operated online poker without competition. After several years of states being unable to pass online gaming legislation despite significant efforts, Pennsylvania accomplished the feat in late 2017.
Most bills to legalize poker — either live or online — appear at the beginning of each year. This allows poker sites open in more than one state to link their sites and player pools across state lines. More than half of the states allow live poker, whether in card rooms, casinos, or on Indigenous lands. Her knowledge spans gambling legislation and the broader online gaming world. The great U.S. state of Maine has become the ninth state to legalize online poker, with the game expected to The mushrooming sportsbetting brand FanDuel is emerging as a potential partner to PokerStars as online poker grows in both popularity
The mushrooming sportsbetting brand FanDuel is emerging as a potential partner to PokerStars as online poker grows in both popularity and accessibility in the United States. In a somewhat surprising turn of events, New York is preparing to revisit the topic of online gambling legalization in 2025. From the looks of it, 2025 seems to be the year for online poker legislation, at least as far as US poker is concerned. Adelson is keen to protect his huge land-based casino assets in Las Vegas and is therefore busy sponsoring various bills outlawing online gaming on a federal level. With election year looming in the USA, it’s unlikely any federal laws on online poker will be passed any time soon.
#7 – Connecticut Welcomes Online Poker in 2021
✅ New federal discussions – Lawmakers are considering a nationwide standard for online gambling protections. ✅ Stricter state regulations – Some states are limiting online casino licenses and enforcing stricter age verification laws. After extensive debate, Germany is looking to increase the taxes on internet gaming, in particular slots and poker. For several months in 2020 and 2021, casinos were shuttered around the world and poker rooms have been the ones that have suffered the most.
That applies to both online poker and live poker, meaning if you want to play cards legally and live in Georgia, you’ll have to travel to Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, or Mississippi to get some action. Not only that but even though the state is small, there are plenty of nearby card rooms in neighboring states, which makes Delaware a great place to live for poker players. As of 2026, only six states have legalized and regulated online poker in Nevada, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Michigan.
Addabbo Jr. has long led the charge for the expansion of online New York gambling, including online poker. New York legislators are introducing iGaming and online poker bills, continuing a long and thus far fruitless legalization effort. Even if a bill is passed, it would likely take at least 18 months before online poker could go live. Opposition also comes from influential groups, including a prominent hotel and casino workers’ union in New York, which argues that online gaming could negatively impact land-based casinos and their workforce. Together, they have introduced about half a dozen additional bills, some exclusively focused on online poker and others addressing both online poker and casino. However, the state would likely need to pass separate legislation to authorize participation in an interstate compact, something which Michigan did following the passage of its online poker legislation.
Meanwhile, the remaining licensees — Hard Rock, Bally’s, and Resorts World — may not be as gung-ho about online casinos as MGM would have been. What’s clear, however, is that none of the current scandal, panic, and legal drama is originating from regulated operators. Underground poker games of the sort involved in the NBA scandal don’t have much reason to exist in states with ready access to legal poker rooms. Coming into 2025, sweepstakes casinos and poker rooms were the hot-button topic.
Ultimate Poker then left the market in November 2014, with WSOP the only internet poker site continuing to operate today. Lawmakers did consider a bill regarding games of skill in 2020, but there has not been enough progress on any poker front to constitute realistic gains. Few regulated gambling options are available except on tribal lands. The overall legal approach to www.pokernewsdaily.com gambling is relatively strict, thanks partly to protections built in for the state-approved gambling outlets.
This material may not be reproduced, displayed, modified or distributed without the express prior written permission of the copyright holder. We encourage all users to check the promotion displayed matches the most current promotion available by clicking through to the operator welcome page. PokerStars is now available exclusively on FanDuel, which means you can play PokerStars for real money in Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
Two of those states (Connecticut and Rhode Island) have yet to license any operators for poker. However, there are some states, like Texas and Georgia, with such ambiguous laws that poker enthusiasts have found ways to open membership-based card clubs without explicit licenses to do so. Players can access the poker room on their mobile through an internet browser if they don’t. It depends on where you’re playing, as some sites specialize in a specific variant. She is a respected poker media member, contributing to publications and websites like USA Today, PokerStars, and PokerScout.
Essential Tips to be Successful in Online Casino
While state-regulated poker sites remain unavailable, observers see Virginia as a potential mid-term adopter. Virginia permits sports betting but not poker platforms in-state. Without legislative appetite or existing casinos to anchor licenses, digital poker expansion is improbable in the short term. Vermont has no law authorizing poker sites to operate in the state. Utah’s unique legal environment, rooted in religious and cultural opposition to gambling, ensures it will remain outside all forms of Internet poker legalization.
Commercial gambling is legal in all but 17 states, with 466 casino establishments (excluding cardrooms) in operation at the beginning of 2023 and delivering more than $60B in revenue in 2022. Since then, online poker has been relegated to state governments to legalize and license as they see fit. The billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson has pumped millions and millions of dollars into fighting online gambling.
The Black Friday raids targeted the websites, CEOs and payment processors of the major global poker sites – PokerStars, Full Tilt and Absolute/UB – on charges of money laundering and fraud. To understand federal poker law in the United States, you have to look first at the 1961 Federal Wire Act. WV intro’d online gaming bill in 2017, and will need to do “something” about the threat from PA. Northern neighbor State, Pennsylvania, just became the 4th legal online State…and PA has put pressure on WV B&M racinos, etc, for years due to the sprawl of B&M Gaming there, currently. There are no specific laws relating to poker in the state of Wisconsin. The state of Virginia takes a pretty hard line against most forms of gambling and this if reflected in the state legal code.
Live poker is permitted in the state of South Dakota, but online poker remains unregulated and therefore not legally available. Online casinos launched in July 2019, and PokerStars was the first online poker site to launch in November 2019. While live poker is permitted in the state of North Carolina, there is no legal provision for online poker. While live poker is permitted in the state of New Mexico, there is no legislation that considers online poker. Live poker is a part of the legal gambling landscape, as is online poker via WSOP.com. There is no legal online poker in Montana, although the state does allow live poker.
While Washington has embraced many forms of gambling, online gaming is not one of them. Despite not offering online poker, Vermont spoke out against the US government’s interpretation of the Wire Act and was critical in getting that opinion clarified. As one of the most conservative states in the country, Utah does not offer online or live poker and don’t hold your breath for that to change any time soon. Texas does not have legal sports betting and has not addressed the subject since the 2018 US Supreme Court ruling. There is no online or live poker in Tennessee and it seems unlikely that either will be reaching the state any time soon. In 2020, South Dakota voters approved sports betting and the first legal sportsbooks reached the state in 2021.
States with lawmakers educated about igaming understand that it only benefits land-based gambling partners by opening their customer base to new and younger demographics. Pennsylvania legalized online poker nearly two years before Michigan, but it has yet to join MSIGA to allow for online poker liquidity. PokerStars was the only site that received approval by the end of 2022 to link its sites, and it did link its Michigan and New Jersey poker player pools on January 1, 2023. The governors of Nevada and Delaware signed the first interstate online poker agreement in February 2014. This site is dedicated primarily to USA online poker, but some live poker issues can impact the online scene. Tribal gambling is legal in 30 states, with 515 casinos at the start of 2023 and $39B in revenue recorded in 2021.
- California’s decision resets the US sweeps poker map and accelerates the migration away from dual-currency mechanics.
- Hochul’s signature makes New York officially the sixth state to enact some sort of prohibition on sweepstakes casinos this year.
- Here’s a look at some of the most significant points in the history of the legality of poker in the US.
- Not only that but even though the state is small, there are plenty of nearby card rooms in neighboring states, which makes Delaware a great place to live for poker players.
The bill calls for a 33.5% tax on gross gaming revenue, which is lower than the 51% tax on mobile sports betting. Over the last few years, he’s also attempted to bring iGaming and online gaming to New York, but has yet to get the legislation over the hump. As several other states consider online gaming legalization, New York Sen. Joseph Addabbo (D) has once again introduced a bill in New York. Adding New York to the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA) would be a major boost to the country’s online poker pools.
My priority is to ensure safety; prevent problem gambling; generate much-needed, significant revenue; and keep New York competitive with surrounding states.” Additionally, the state finally awarded three downstate casino licenses. New York state Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. has been an ardent supporter of expanded gambling. The law leaves an out for third-party providers by noting they must knowingly and willfully support an unlawful sweeps platform. Another 62% of Californians viewed the industry favorably, with 84% of gamblers viewing the industry favorably. The SGLA warned that California was missing out on $1 billion in annual economic impact from sweepstakes games, and $200-$300 million in potential tax revenue.
At this time, as of 2026, there are no pieces of legislation up for a vote on bringing legal internet poker to the Cotton State. Yes, online poker is legal in the United States, albeit only in certain states. The online poker landscape in the US is constantly changing, but here at PokerNews we aim to keep you atop all the latest developments so you can have a great experience at the best online poker sites in the US.
More lawmakers in Hawaii have been open to discussing the possibility of sports betting, with only a select few even entertaining the idea of a casino on the islands. This state is frequently mentioned as a possible place where regulated online poker could both come to pass and thrive. They could be a candidate for regulated online poker, but a lack of obvious support undermines their potential. Lawmakers tried to legalize online poker for more than ten years before quitting after an incredibly frustrating 2016 legislative session. A litany of regulated options for playing real-money poker coexists with an aggressive stance toward unregulated gambling in Arizona. There are few options, and the likelihood of regulated online poker in the near term is essentially nil.