West Virginia officials have begun to explore joining the multistate agreement that would allow future online poker sites to share player pools with other states. West Virginia officials are looking into to joining the MSIGA, which could be the first step in making online poker available to residents in the state. (Image: CardsChat) West Virginia lottery officials have requested a copy of the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA) from the organization with the same name, which is the first of many steps in applying to become a member.
Online poker in America is legal in just seven states: New Jersey, Nevada, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Michigan, West Virginia, and Connecticut.
MSIGA members are New Jersey, Nevada, Delaware, and most recently, Michigan, which joined the agreement last month . Online poker sites that have been approved to operate in these states, and which have been certified by the each of the state’s gambling control or lottery board, can have their players play each other across state lines on one platform.
Senior Policy Counsel of MSIGA, Micheal Morton, confirmed West Virginia has initiated contact. Officials within West Virginia’s Lottery, which oversees gambling there, did not respond to an email as of publication. Open for business in a bad location
Online poker is legal in West Virginia, but no rooms operate there because the population of the state is so small —- about 1.7 million. Connecticut, with its population of 3.5 million, is in the same situation.
Instead, corporations like Flutter, the parent company of PokerStars and FanDuel, have focused on online sports betting, slots, and virtual casinos in West Virginia since opening shop in 2020.
Without being able to share their player pools with other states, it’s doubtful that the global gambling giants will open up online poker rooms in West Virginia, Connecticut, or any other state without a population in the seven figures.
Right now, only WSOP.com takes advantage of MSIGA, placing its players in Nevada, Delaware, and New Jersey on one platform. It will add Michigan players by the end of the year, although no time frame is available.
The combined network allows WSOP.com to schedule tournaments […]
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