Rumours have been abounding for some time now on the arrival of online poker in the state of Pennsylvania. In fact, ever since the state made mention of the fact that it intended to regulate an online gambling scene, poker enthusiasts have been going back and forth upon when the poker scene will get its start there.
Yet, as far as Pennsylvania itself is concerned, an official date for its arrival still hasn’t been set. That has left some people to wonder whether it will actually launch within the state at all. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) has been very hush hush over its status as well, with a spokesperson for the regulatory body giving the following insight:
“We believe that one of the operators should be in the position in the very near future to begin offering poker”, before he claimed that there was no date in mind for when this may take place.
This hasn’t stopped Pennsylvania’s poker fans from Tweeting furiously over the reception of any new kind of information that may lead towards a successful poker launch within the state. The PGCB has also witnessed multiple questions from these players regarding online poker, with the same spokesperson mentioning that Pennsylvania does have a poker market and that there is an excitement for it to be unveiled and launched.
Little Movement on Online Poker in Pennsylvania
While July 15 marked the official starting date for online casinos within Pennsylvania, just three were launched a few days after that time. Yet, none of them have moved in the direction of online poker, instead choosing to host a limited number of casino games within their lobbies. That being said, three of the world’s largest poker rooms have united with three separate Pennsylvania casinos, which are the following:
- PokerStars in a partnership with Mount Airy Casino
- Party Poker uniting with Valley Forge Casino Resort
- 888/WSOP.com and Caesars forming a poker unison
Of course, there could be a reason for the delay in Pennsylvania launching poker in any of its online or land-based brands. You only need to take a glance at the New Jersey revenue figures for August of this year to realise that it’s not quite as profitable there as originally expected. Of the $60.3 million (£49 million) revenue earned in the gambling sector of New Jersey in August, just $1.7 million (£1.3 million) of that came from poker platforms.
It was professional poker gamer Michael “Gags30” Gagliano who would Tweet about the rumours of PokerStars being live for beta testing on Aug. 27 before going fully live on Aug. 30. However, the PGCB swiftly shot down the rumour as being negative information, leaving fans to wait even longer for poker’s arrival in Pennsylvania. It was then speculated that poker would be active in the state in September, but still nothing became a reality.
Could October finally be the month that Pennsylvania’s residents get the opportunity to indulge in official poker gameplay?
