Hotel and casino entertainment company Caesars Entertainment recently announced the expansion of the WSOP Online poker platform to pool liquidity in Pennsylvania, Nevada, New Jersey, and Michigan. The company is currently the only online poker operator to share liquidity across the four US jurisdictions, though industry experts expect other operators to follow in the future.
Adding the Pennsylvania player pool to WSOP Online allows players in the Keystone State to participate in higher-stakes gameplay. Meanwhile, the 2025 WSOP Online Bracelet schedule is set to kick off on May 31, with the final event beginning on July 15.
The news follows Governor Josh Shapiro’s signing of an agreement allowing Pennsylvania to become the sixth member of the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA) for poker. The state joins New Jersey, Nevada, Delaware, West Virginia, and Michigan. Pennsylvania is now the largest state in the shared market, covering a population of over 38 million.
Considering the estimated 150,000 online poker players in Pennsylvania, experts expect the move to significantly expand the pool of interstate online poker players by more than 50%. Starting April 28, online poker players in Pennsylvania can join in multi-state games in New Jersey and Michigan.
The state of online poker in New Jersey
In 2013, New Jersey became the third state to legalize online gambling, including online poker rooms. This move led to brick-and-mortar casinos applying for licenses, which officially launched the first online gambling sites.
By mid-2017, New Jersey had surpassed the $100 million mark in online revenue. Two years later, the total online revenue began to exceed $30 million monthly, accounting for nearly 15% of the overall gambling revenue reported by Atlantic City casinos. According to state gaming data, New Jersey’s online poker revenue in March 2024 was $2,358,271.
Today, top online poker site Americas Cardroom is a trusted platform for New Jersey-based online poker enthusiasts. It offers players a safe and reliable gameplay experience through tournaments, events, promotions, and flexible payment options like cryptocurrency. Global sites like Americas Cardroom have become a viable alternative to state-licensed operators for online poker players who want a more diverse player pool and higher stakes.
What does shared liquidity mean for New Jersey players?
For the uninitiated, shared liquidity due to the Multi-State Gaming Agreement means that operators can legally let players from different states compete in the same online games and tournaments. In terms of online poker, this equates to a giant poker room instead of separate, smaller ones.
As mentioned above, adding Pennsylvania to the pooled arrangement would significantly increase the combined player base to millions of eligible players. Aside from a broader player base, this may mean bigger prize pools. For reference, the WSOP Online Series in 2021, which only shared liquidity between New Jersey and Nevada, offered a $10 million prize pool.
Most recently, data was released confirming New Jersey‘s online poker growth. Operators reported a combined $2.6 million in revenue in March, up 9% from the previous year. The state is currently mainly dominated by the WSOP platform, which generated $768,000 in revenue last month. The report also saw the introduction of new operators, such as DraftKings’ Electric Poker.
As online poker operators continue to expand their jurisdictions, players can play in more competitive tournaments for higher stakes, which drives revenue growth for state-licensed businesses. A wider player pool would also mean more active players at different times of the day, which means online poker enthusiasts won’t have to wait too long between games and tournaments.
If you liked this post, you can check out other news and insights on New Jersey goings-on. For example, our post on the potential TikTok ban early this year highlighted how it may reshape the state’s social media and digital marketing landscape.
The New Jersey Digest is a new jersey magazine that has chronicled daily life in the Garden State for over 10 years.