Pennsylvania Joins MSIGA, Expands WSOP Poker and Texas Hold’em Across Six-State Network
In April 2025, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signed an agreement that allowed the state to join the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement, known as MSIGA. This compact enables online poker operators in Pennsylvania to merge their player pools with those in five other states: New Jersey, Nevada, Delaware, Michigan, and West Virginia.
Pennsylvania, with over 150,000 online poker players, is now the largest state participating in MSIGA. This enables players within the state to enter games and tournaments featuring participants from multiple jurisdictions, increasing both the size of the competition and the total prize money available. Pennsylvania’s participation was finalized after extended efforts from lawmakers and industry stakeholders.
BetMGM Launches Multistate Tournaments on April 28
On April 28, 2025, BetMGM Poker began offering multistate games that included Pennsylvania players, connecting them with its existing networks in New Jersey and Michigan. The first event after the network went live was a $35,000-guaranteed “C-Note” tournament held the next day. That tournament also featured a prize package for the BetMGM Poker Championship, scheduled for June 2025 at ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.
As a result of the increased player pool, BetMGM recorded its largest Pennsylvania payout to date. A winner received nearly $100,000 from one of the early multistate tournaments. BetMGM reported that player traffic has doubled or tripled since the integration, allowing for more consistent scheduling of high-stakes games and increased participation in daily tournaments like the “Big Shot” series.
BetMGM later hosted the “May Millions” online series from May 8 to May 11, 2025. The series featured 18 events across BetMGM and its sister site BorgataPoker. The featured event was a $1,000 buy-in Championship tournament with a $400,000 guaranteed prize pool.
WSOP.com Expands Multi-State Network
WSOP.com also expanded its player pool to include Pennsylvania. The platform now shares traffic across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Michigan, and Nevada. Ahead of the 2025 World Series of Poker, WSOP.com announced an online bracelet series featuring 30 events. It is the first time that players in all four of these states can compete in the same online bracelet tournaments. Additionally, five of these bracelet events will end with live final tables hosted at the Horseshoe Las Vegas.
State Official George Dunbar Advocated for the Change
George Dunbar, a current member of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board and former Republican state representative from Westmoreland County’s 56th District, supported Pennsylvania’s entry into MSIGA. In 2024, Dunbar introduced a bill urging the governor to join the agreement. The bill did not advance to a vote, but it drew attention from both state officials and poker players. According to Dunbar, the main benefit of merging player pools is not revenue but improved gameplay and competition. As a former online poker player himself, he stated that a larger pool allows for more skilled matchups and makes the game more engaging.
Online Poker Revenue in Pennsylvania Remains Modest
In the previous fiscal year, Pennsylvania generated approximately $4.5 million in tax revenue from online poker. This figure is low compared to the total revenue from all online gambling in the state, which exceeded $840 million. Gaming Control Board officials have not projected a significant revenue increase from joining MSIGA, but they expect some growth. According to Dunbar, even an additional $1 million or $2 million would be meaningful, though not a central motivation for the change.
Other Operators May Join MSIGA
As of June 2025, BetMGM and WSOP.com are the only Pennsylvania poker operators offering multistate games. There are six online poker operators licensed in the state. PokerStars, which launched in Pennsylvania in 2019 and was the first to offer legal online poker there, has not yet connected its player pool with Michigan and New Jersey, where it also operates. BetRivers, another licensed operator that launched online poker in Pennsylvania in 2024, has confirmed it plans to offer a multistate platform in the future. BetRivers also has exclusive access to the Delaware online poker market through partnerships with Rivers Casinos.
Connecticut Considers MSIGA Membership
Connecticut introduced Senate Bill 1,464 in March 2025. If passed, the bill would allow the state to join MSIGA. Currently, DraftKings and FanDuel are the only licensed online gambling operators in Connecticut. If the law is enacted, those companies could potentially offer online poker as part of the multistate agreement.
Timeline of MSIGA and Pennsylvania’s Entry
The Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement began in February 2014, when Delaware and Nevada created a compact to share online poker liquidity. New Jersey joined in October 2017, and its shared poker tables went live in 2018. Michigan became the fourth state to join in May 2022. West Virginia entered the agreement in November 2023, although no online poker platforms have launched in that state as of June 2025.
Pennsylvania started official negotiations with MSIGA in October 2024. BetMGM Poker had already merged its Michigan and New Jersey pools in November 2024. With Governor Shapiro’s signature in April 2025, Pennsylvania became the sixth state to join. The state’s entry was the most significant expansion of the compact to date due to its population size and number of active poker players.
Pennsylvania Now Central to U.S. Regulated Poker
With its entry into MSIGA, Pennsylvania has quickly become a central part of the regulated online poker market in the United States. The state’s large player base has boosted tournament sizes and prize pools across participating platforms. Operators have been able to host larger events, such as BetMGM’s $400,000 guaranteed tournament and WSOP.com’s 30-bracelet series, which would not have been feasible under Pennsylvania’s former closed player pool system.
The current multistate player networks now include:
- BetMGM/BorgataPoker: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Michigan
- WSOP.com: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Nevada, Michigan
- PokerStars: Pennsylvania (not yet multistate)
- BetRivers: Pennsylvania (plans for multistate pending)
No assumptions have been made about operator timelines or the status of pending legislation. All details reflect current, confirmed information as of June 2025.