The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) confirmed that online poker under the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA) will soon be operational. There are plans to begin sharing liquidity across state lines which will expand the reach of networked poker.
As of 2025, the states involved in MSIGA are New Jersey, Delaware, Nevada, Michigan, West Virginia, and now Pennsylvania. These states allow online poker players to play across state lines, leading to bigger jackpots and more tournaments.
West Virginia has yet to integrate its players since joining in 2023, however. New Jersey joined in 2017 and has benefited from the increased opportunities it gives players. The state consistently outperforms Pennsylvania in revenue generated from online poker.
Active poker sites in the Keystone State, Pokerstars, WSOP, and BetMGM, are preparing to join MSIGA. Pokerstars was first to include Michigan players when they joined in 2022, so they may be the first to launch in Pennsylvania, too.
WSOP followed next in Michigan and made a technology upgrade to include players from Delaware, Nevada and New Jersey. The site has exclusivity in Nevada as the sole legal operator.
Online poker in Pennsylvania
The Keystone State legalized online poker in 2017, with Pokerstars first to launch in 2019. Since then, more sites have joined and generate substantial revenue for the state.
Last year, Pennsylvania generated a record $2.66 billion in revenue from gambling, with a large portion of that from online sources. Currently, online poker is taxed at 15%, but Gov. Josh Shapiro has proposed to greatly increase the gambling tax to as much as 52%.
The ability for players to participate across state lines can greatly increase player engagement. It may also prevent players from turning to alternative poker sites. Crypto poker sites, such as CoinPoker can run tournaments offering bigger and better prizes than many of the regulated sites.
A leader in legalized gambling
Gov. Shapiro has been making moves to expand the legal gambling sector and clamp down on illegal gaming. He supported the move to join MSIGA last year, commenting,
“In order to remain competitive in the gambling sector, I am expressing my strong support for Pennsylvania to join the MSIGA alongside Michigan, Delaware, Nevada, New Jersey and West Virginia.
“Pennsylvania should capitalize on our status as a leader in legalized gambling, and join this compact, which would bring in additional revenue for the Commonwealth and allow players more gaming options.”
The state has also been cracking down on unregulated platforms and issued 18 cease-and-desist letters recently to sweepstakes casino operators.
Joining the MSIGA marks the expansion of the state’s legal gambling options. Given its population of 13 million, the online poker player pool is expected to increase by 51%.
Explore more articles like this
Subscribe to the Markets Outlook newsletter
Get critical insights to spot investment opportunities, mitigate risks, and refine your trading strategies. Delivered every Monday
Cointelegraph is a free to read website, by purchasing a product through affiliate links in our content, we may earn a commission at no extra cost for our readers. Which will allow us to finance our operations and continue with our research work for our readers. We ensure all recommendations go through in-depth editorial checks to maintain accuracy and quality. You can learn more about this on Content Guidelines and How We Rate pages.
