Massachusetts is a beautiful state that is rich in history and offers plenty of places to grab a sweet treat for breakfast 🍩. But the Bay State is also a state where you can play sweepstakes poker online and your winnings can be converted to real money.
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Can I Play Online Poker in Massachusetts?
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| Online Poker in Massachusetts: Key Facts | |
|---|---|
| 📢 What’s Legal | Social poker, including sweepstakes and free-play sites |
| ✨ Main Highlights | Winnings from sweepstakes poker can be converted to real money |
| 🔮Real Money Online Poker (Regulated) |
Legislation possible at any time, igaming expansion study underway |
| 🃏 Available Games | No Limit Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha, and several mixed game variants |
| 🔞 Legal Age | Players must be 18 years of age or older |
| 👥 MA Population | 7 Million (ranks 16th) |
The Best Online Poker Sites in Massachusetts
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Free-Play Poker in Massachusetts
Massachusetts players also have the option of playing online poker for free without spending any money. Free-play poker apps and free-play poker sites are great options for new players or for anyone still trying to learn the mechanics of the game.
Zynga Poker, Replay Poker, Governor of Poker, and Poker Patio are some of the more popular free-play sites. Facebook and other social media platforms also offer online poker for free. Two of the world’s most popular real money online poker operators, PokerStars and WSOP, offer free-play versions of their platform — PokerStars Play and PlayWSOP, respectively — with the hope that players on their free sites will eventually migrate and try their luck on their “paid” sites, assuming the players live in a state with regulated real money online poker.
Keep in mind that you won’t be able to develop a winning online poker strategy if you play exclusively on free-play sites. That’s because there isn’t any real money at stake in free-play poker. Still, we still recommend free-play sites for anyone new to online poker.
Real Money Online Poker in Massachusetts
Massachusetts has a relatively short history with modern gaming. The state lottery was founded in 1971. Forty years later, land-based gaming became legal with passage of the Expanded Gaming Act in 2011. Retail sports betting launched in January 2023, followed by mobile sports betting two months later.
The state has two commercial land-based casinos, Encore Boston Harbor and MGM Springfield. The former is operated by Wynn Resorts while the latter is operated by MGM Resorts International. There is one racino in the state, Plainridge Park Casino, which is operated by Penn Entertainment.
At this stage, talk of expanded igaming seems premature. Regulators with the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) are taking time to study the effects of expanded igaming on public health. In June 2024, the agency put out a request for proposal (RFP) for one firm to conduct such an analysis. MGC said the study should take one year to complete, but the contract could be extended for a second year.
Since state regulators could be studying expanded igaming for at least a year, it seems unlikely that a regulated market for real money online poker will launch in Massachusetts anytime soon.
Multi-State Online Poker in Massachusetts
That said, some lawmakers in Massachusetts have been calling for the state to regulate real money online poker as far back as 2011. Today, many lawmakers in the Massachusetts General Court, the official name for the state legislature, still support the idea of legalizing online poker.
If a state-regulated market for online poker comes to pass, Massachusetts should move to join a multi-jurisdictional gaming compact where operators in the member states can combine their player pools. The preeminent compact in the US is the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA), which currently includes Delaware, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, and West Massachusetts.
Operators in the MSIGA states are allowed to combine their player pools. The resulting shared liquidity creates bigger tournaments, bigger prizes, more tax revenue, and more excitement for online poker.
Massachusetts ranks 16th in terms of population with 7 million residents. Operators probably won’t be interested in launching there if it’s a segregated market — membership in MSIGA makes the state a much more attractive prospect. Massachusetts would be a mid-size member of the compact if it joined — smaller than Michigan and New Jersey, but larger than Delaware, Nevada, and West Massachusetts.
Poker Sites Likely to Launch in Massachusetts
At this stage, it’s too early to predict how lawmakers in Massachusetts will approach expanded igaming.
Lawmakers could decide to expand the scope of licenses already issued for mobile sports betting. Under the current setup, land-based casinos are allowed up to two skins for mobile sports betting and may open one retail sportsbook. Meanwhile, racinos are allowed one mobile skin and one retail sportsbook. The state can issue up to seven mobile sports betting licenses that are untethered to any land-based gaming.
Massachusetts has two commercial land-based casinos and one racino, meaning the state could have up to 12 mobile sportsbooks under current market conditions, which includes the seven standalone licenses. Twelve licenses for real money online poker should be more than enough to accommodate the top three real money online poker operators in the US — BetMGM Poker, PokerStars, and WSOP — plus BetRivers Poker, a platform currently in development by Rush Street Interactive (RSI).
BetMGM Poker MA and WSOP MA are likely market entrants, considering BetMGM Sportsbook and Caesars Sportsbook are already live in the state for sports betting. Caesars owns WSOP. BetRivers, RSI’s flagship brand, doesn’t currently have a presence in the state. FanDuel, a brand owned by Flutter, holds one of the aforementioned standalone licenses for sports betting; PokerStars, another Flutter brand, might need one, too.
The following matchups are purely hypothetical, but here is how we think Massachusetts fits into operators’ network plans in the US:
| Operator | Potential Massachusetts Partnership | Hypothetical Network Plans |
|---|---|---|
| PokerStars USA | PokerStars and FanDuel are both Flutter brands, and the latter has an untethered license for sports betting. PokerStars could presumably acquire the same or find a land-based partner. | PokerStars will likely want to create a three-state network that includes MA-MI-NJ. |
| BetMGM Poker | A no-brainer — BetMGM will partner with MGM Springfield, a land-based casino in the city that opened in August 2018. | BetMGM could make a four-state network across MA-MI-NJ-NV, but it first needs to launch in NV and combine its MI and NJ players pools. |
| WSOP Online | Since Caesars is tethered to Encore Boston Harbor for mobile sports betting, WSOP will likely operate under the same license for online poker. Caesars owns WSOP. | Like BetMGM, WSOP would aim for a four-state network across MA-MI-NJ-NV. |
| BetRivers Poker | A poker platform in development by Rush Street Interactive (RSI). RSI doesn’t have a sports betting license, so it will either pursue a standalone license or find a land-based partner. | RSI could establish a four-state network running across DE-MA-MI-NJ. They could also add WV. |
Massachusetts Online Poker FAQ
Is online poker legal in Massachusetts?
Yes, you can play online poker in Massachusetts and it is completely legal and safe. If you’re interested in playing online poker where your winnings can be converted to real money, we recommend Clubs Poker. Subscription-based poker sites are also available in the Bay State, as are free-play apps and free-play sites if you’re looking to play for free. Here’s how the three types of sites work:
- Modern sweepstakes poker sites — under this model, players use real money to buy virtual tokens (aka Gold Coins) that can only be used for play-money games. Players receive Sweeps Coins as a gift, which are used for entry to sweepstakes tables. Winnings from these tables can be converted to real money. We rank Clubs Poker as the best modern sweepstakes poker site in Massachusetts.
- Subscription poker sites — players pay a monthly fee to access daily tournaments, where winnings are convertible to real money.
- Free-play poker sites — there are many apps available for download in Massachusetts that offer online poker for free. Free-play sites like Zynga Poker are perfect for new players because they offer a place to learn the basics without having to spend any real money.
A regulated market for real money online poker in Massachusetts is at least one year away (maybe two) from becoming a reality. Players may come across real money online poker sites based offshore, but we do not recommend playing them.
Does Massachusetts have real money online poker?
No, Massachusetts does not currently have a regulated market for real money online poker. It’s possible that the state could set up such a market, but the regulator just embarked on a study of expanded igaming that’s expected to take at least one year, maybe two. In the interim, we recommend sweepstakes online poker, a legal alternative where your winnings can be converted to real money.
Can I play ring games online in Massachusetts?
Yes, Clubs Poker has ring games. Since it’s a modern sweepstakes poker site, players will need Sweeps Coins for entry to tables where the winnings are convertible to real money.
Are there online poker tournaments in Massachusetts?
Yes, you will find many types of online poker tournaments in the Bay State. Clubs Poker hosts tournaments on a daily basis in several formats, including bounty tournaments, multi-table tournaments (MTTs), progressive knockout tournaments (PKOs), and sit-and-go (SNG) tournaments.
What types of poker games are available online?
No-Limit Texas Hold’em (NLH) and Pot Limit Omaha (PLO) are the most popular games on Clubs Poker, but the selection doesn’t stop there — players will also find mixed game variants like Omaha Hi-Lo, 2-7 Single Draw, 5 & 6 Omaha, and HORSE.
Is PokerStars legal in Massachusetts?
No, PokerStars does not operate in Massachusetts. Neither do BetMGM Poker and WSOP. If a regulated market is established, we expect all three operators, plus BetRivers Poker, to set up shop in the Bay State. That’s especially true for BetMGM and WSOP because they have existing partnerships with two land-based casinos for sports betting — the latter via Caesars Sportsbook (Caesars owns WSOP).
Will Massachusetts regulate online poker anytime soon?
At this stage, a regulated market for real money online poker looks at least one year away, maybe two. But the state appears receptive to the idea and one of the two land-based casinos, MGM Springfield, is operated by MGM Resorts International. MGM owns half of BetMGM, which has a poker platform (Entain owns the other half of BetMGM).
Can I play online poker on offshore sites?
We don’t recommend playing online poker on offshore sites because they do not offer the same level of consumer protection as legal, regulated sites. When players disclose their financial and personal information on these sites they put themselves at risk of identity theft. Federal officials have warned US citizens not to use offshore sites because they have no legal recourse to collect winnings owed to them.