Pennsylvania joins multi-state online poker agreement

Today, Governor Josh Shapiro signed an agreement accepting Pennsylvania as the sixth member of the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA) for poker. This expansion of online gaming for poker creates more choice and freedom for an estimated 150,000 online poker players in Pennsylvania and expands the pool of online poker players by more than 50%. With the Commonwealth’s entry into MSIGA, Pennsylvania becomes the largest state in the shared market that now covers over 38 million Americans.

The Commonwealth joins New Jersey, Nevada, Delaware, West Virginia, and Michigan as participants in MSIGA, allowing the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) to work with its online operators and the other state gaming agencies to ensure that Pennsylvania’s approximately 150,000 online poker players are provided with the same assurances offered through other online gaming options by using a fair and thoroughly tested platform. This expansion will also afford larger prize pools without requiring an increase in buy-in amounts.

“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.

Poker players universally wanted PA to enter the multistate market in order to enhance competition among players, provide access to larger prize pools, grow the poker industry, support smaller operators, and reduce unregulated play.

Online Pennsylvania poker players will be able to participate in the multi-state games beginning on April 28, 2025 will include BetMGM and PA Borgata Online with others expected to join soon.

With 17 retail casinos and 22 sites associated with online casino gaming, the gaming sector employs over 15,000 people in Pennsylvania. The amount of tax revenue generated by legalized gambling in the Commonwealth is nearly $2.7 billion annually. That money is dispersed to Pennsylvania residents as reductions in school property taxes, purchases of goods and services from the agricultural community, and grants available for projects in all 67 counties. An important contributor to the economy, Pennsylvania’s gaming market ranks first in the United states among commercial gaming states in producing tax revenue.