West Virginia also is a member of the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement exclusive to poker but doesn’t yet have any operators online, according to gaming site Play Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania with an estimated 150,000 online poker players is the largest state in the shared market. According to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, its entry will expand the collective player pool by more than 50%.

“Poker players universally wanted Pennsylvania to enter the multi-state 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,” the PGCB stated in announcing the agreement Wednesday.

Participation in multi-state games is scheduled to begin April 28 with initial offerings from BetMGM and PA Borgata Online. PGCB states that other operators will likely soon join.

Gov. Josh Shapiro requested in October that the PGCB pursue membership in the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement. The Pennsylvania Race Horse Development and Gaming Act empowers the governor to approve entry into such agreements.

“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,” Shapiro said. “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.”

Prize pools are expected to expand but without requiring a commensurate increase in buy-in amounts, according to the PGCB.

Combined revenues from all forms of gaming in Pennsylvania topped $6 billion in 2024 for the first time.

In particular, online gaming grew 25% year over year, exceeding $2.18 billion and rapidly approaching slot machine revenue as the largest gaming revenue stream in the commonwealth.

Tax revenue resulting from legalized gambling in Pennsylvania is approximately $2.7 billion, according to PGCB.

The commonwealth is home to 17 retail casinos and 22 sites associated with online casino gaming.

Online poker generated approximately $28 million in revenue in fiscal 2023-24, down 9% from the fiscal year prior. However, in March, the PGCB reported poker revenue grew 3.2% year over year at more than $2.56 million.