When the state of New Jersey first opened the door to regulated online gambling in the United States back in 2013, its main goal was to provide a launching pad for online poker. At the time it was believed that online poker would continue to be a national phenomenon. That was not how things worked out.
In the subsequent 15 years, online poker’s popularity has dropped considerably and online poker markets are struggling to find enough players to remain relevant. That’s why in 2025 the announcement that BetMGM will be joining the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA), a shared liquidity player pool, is such big news. Starting this week, Pennsylvania online poker players will be able to test their skills against players from Michigan, Nevada and New Jersey in a shared pool.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro explained the reasoning behind joining MSIGA in comments reported on by SBC Americas saying, “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. 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.”
BetMGM and BorgataPoker will be the first Pennsylvania-facing operators to institute the shared liquidity pool starting Monday, April 28. As part of the celebration, BetMGM Poker will be offering a $35,000 free roll on Tuesday, April 29.
Will the addition of Pennsylvania players help boost the tiny revenue numbers online poker operators produce each month? That remains to be seen.