Negotiations have begun over Pennsylvania online poker shared liquidity. And if you don’t know exactly what that is and why you should be excited, allow us a moment to explain. You see, poker is a game where you need lots of players. But regulated online poker is usually restricted to state boundaries, which limits the number of people who can play. But this is not the case with shared liquidity.
Basically, when states have an agreement for web based poker player shared liquidity, the number of players increases in ways that are good for players and the businesses running the games. These agreements allow states to pool their respective players together by ignoring state borders and forming a large, multi-state pool of players. Such an agreement already exists between Nevada, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, and West Virginia.
Now, it’s time for Pennsylvania online poker to take the plunge and join the existing compact. At least, that’s what the state Gaming Control Board is thinking about at the request of their governor. In fact, the state is the only regulated internet poker market not currently participating in the agreement. Talk about some serious FOMO! However, there is already legislation sitting in a house committee that would accomplish this. So what’s the deal?
“In order to remain competitive in the gambling sector, I am expressing my strong support for Pennsylvania to join the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement…” said the Governor. Pennsylvania should capitalize on our status as a leader in legalized gambling, and join this compact, which would bring in additional revenue for the Commonwealth and allow players more gaming options.” he added.
The Committee on Gaming Oversight is currently considering the bill, HB 2078, which has wide spread bipartisan support. However, making any Pennsylvania online poker agreement a reality may be tricky this year, as there is precious little time left in the session. After all, the politicians need extra time off from all the work they have not doing anything else useful during the first nine and a half months of the year.