In the United States, Pennsylvania is the only operator that offers online poker without being a member of the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA). Governor Josh Shapiro told the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PCGB) to have negotiations with the MSIGA. The MSIGA allows online poker networks to share players across state borders.
This will increase their player liquidity and the overall action they see in the Pennsylvania online poker market. Pennsylvania is currently the only online poker operator in the U.S. not part of the MSIGA. Members of the MSIGA include Delaware, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, and West Virginia. On October 10, Governor Shapiro expressed his request to the PCGB via a letter.
He noted that Pennsylvania is interested in entering the MSIGA. This is not the first we’ve heard of this in 2024. Earlier in the year, state lawmakers had House Bill 2078 pushed to their attention. In HB 2078l, it stated that the PCGB was required to sign a deal to join MSIGA within 30 days of passing. That bill still hasn’t passed but Governor Shapiro is not going to give in easily.
What is the timeline for MSIGA to add a new state?
Representative George Dunbar is a sponsor of House Bill 2078. In June, he predicted that Pennsylvania would be able to join MSIGA. He mentioned how the state could add multi-state poker before the end of the year. Despite his efforts, Dog Harbach, the PCGB director of communications, was not as optimistic.
Harbach noted that multi-state wagering by the end of 2024 might not be in the cards for Pennsylvania. He also confirmed that Governor Shapiro has been in touch with the PCGB to negotiate their entrance into MSIGA. Shapiro is unsure how long this process would take and said they are in the “early stage” of the process.
Multi-state poker will help keep Pennsylvania’s online sports betting market thriving. Recently, the state has seen several expansions in its gambling market. That includes the launch of bet365 and improvements to their interface through an agreement with Playtech. In September 2024, White Hat Studios partnered with Fanatics Casino to launch new games.