BetMGM Poker has put its online players in New Jersey and Michigan under the same virtual roof by beginning to share its player pools of the two states today.
It joins WSOP.com as the second online poker room to take advantage of the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA) that allows rooms to share players across state lines.
BetMGM Poker in Nevada is expected to go live sometime later this year or in early 2025, and because Nevada is also a member of MSIGA, players there will mostly likely play against players in New Jersey and Michigan. This is called shared liquidity in the online gambling business.
“This is a landmark day for our poker product as we combine player pools in select markets,” said Angus Nisbet, Vice-President of Gaming at BetMGM. “With the introduction of shared liquidity, we’ve listened to players’ desire for more games and larger prize pools.”
The company considers this “a significant milestone in the evolution of BetMGM Poker,” according to a press release.
The online poker app has also been redesigned with a streamlined log-in and new lobby in all of its markets.
To celebrate the debut of combined player pools, BetMGM Poker will hold the BetMGM Poker Online Championships Nov. 17 to Dec. 1. The largest series for the online site in the U.S. to date, it feature $2 million in guarantees, nightly trophy events and a series leaderboard.
The reason they are able to offer bigger prize pools is simple: The more players the site gets to feed those prize pools, the easier it is to guarantee them.
This also goes for live events, which Bet MGM Poker plans to act as a feeder for now and in the future. Here’s how four-time World Poker Tour winner and BetMGM Poker ambassador Darren Elias put it:
“Combining player pools will immediately elevate BetMGM Poker with more games and bigger guarantees while allowing BetMGM to send more online qualifiers to live tournaments at MGM Resorts properties across the country.”
Qualifiers are currently running or are planned for several live upcoming series.
- Borgata Fall Mini-Series, Nov. 11–17. Full details and schedule at Borgata Poker.
- National Harbor BetMGM Poker Fall Festival, Nov. 20–24. Online qualifiers and online registration will be available later this month. Full details at MGM National Harbor Poker.
- ARIA Poker Open, December 4–22. Details about this series will soon come.
Luckily, players in Pennsylvania can satellite into this events, too.
Pennsylvania next?
Because BetMGM players in Pennsylvania are embargoed from the rest of the world, they will not be able to play in the Online Championships unless they take a drive to New Jersey or Michigan.
It may be a different case this time next year, though, as Pennsylvania has recently begun the process to join MSIGA just last month.
If approved — and it’s extremely doubtful it won’t be — Pennsylvania will join Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware, Michigan, and West Virginia as part of this burgeoning online poker network in America.
It would be a big get, and may act as a catalyst for more online poker growth in the United States. But this is a slow-moving process, and only time will tell.
