Nevada was the first state to legalize online poker in the U.S., and that shouldn’t come as a surprise considering how gambling-friendly the state is. (This is not an issue for online sports betting and other games.) Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Connecticut have yet to sign the agreement. All participating states must sign the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA) to allow it. Poker liquidity is the reason poker is so profitable in the global market. This is the ability to share player pools for tournaments and cash games across state lines in other jurisdictions, which improves revenue opportunities greatly. The most important feature for operators in these states is poker liquidity. You can still play online poker on certain sites in other states, but the sites aren’t licensed and regulated locally. West Virginia and Connecticut did legalize poker online since then, but no operators have applied for licenses yet. Michigan and Pennsylvania are the only states since 2013 to pass legislation and launch sites, with Michigan the most recent in 2019. Those states are Delaware, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Connecticut. But most states, more than 10 years following “Black Friday,” still don’t have any legal poker sites in operation.Īs of 2021, only five states have licensed sites in operation, but seven states passed laws to legalize online poker. So, in essence, all 50 states could have legal internet poker if the lawmakers would pass legislation.

With that said, each individual state has the right to determine the legality of online gambling.

has struggled, mostly because the top poker sites no longer operate within the country. Ever since April 15, 2011, a date known more infamously as “ Black Friday,” the online poker industry in the U.S. The United States has some strict anti-online gambling laws that have been affecting the poker community for years.

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