Pennsylvania Legal Online Poker Overview

Pennsylvania Online Poker Laws Summary

Pennsylvania GovernorTom Wolf signed the online gaming bill, HB 271, into law on October 30, 2017. This made Pennsylvania the fourth US state to legalize online and regulated gambling, and the first to go live since the online gaming initiatives went legal in New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware in 2013.

The HB 271 bill consisted of over 900 pages and legalized online poker, slots and table games. The initial bill allowed for 12 licenses, with the state setting the cost for a license at $10 million.

Besides online poker, the bill allowed for online lottery, daily fantasy sports, sports betting, and igaming terminals at rest stops. Pennsylvania set the tax rate for gross gaming at 14% on all online poker and online table games – 2% of that was set aside for local share assessment.

In 2018, New Jersey helped states like Pennsylvania when they took on the US Supreme Court in the case of sports betting. The subsequent monumental victory over the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA) opened the door for multiple states to engage in legal sports betting. Before this, sports betting only held its own in Nevada.

As of October 2022, no Pennsylvania poker sites are merged with any other states in the United States. WSOP.com currently holds an interstate merger agreement with New Jersey and Nevada but has not launched plans for Pennsylvania to join the compact yet. Other states and operators were waiting for a positive outcome for the Department of Justice Hearings. Originally, the outdated US Wire Act held back sites from operating across state lines, but in January 2021 the courts ruled in favor of the gaming companies and allowed for mergers to proceed in regulated markets. Shared liquidity poker player pools in most states (including Pennsylvania) have not yet started.

Legal Online Poker Operators in Pennsylvania

There are currently four online poker licensed operators in Pennsylvania – PokerStars, BetMGM, Borgata and World Series of Poker (WSOP).

PokerStars went live in PA on November 6, 2019, partnering with Mount Airy Casino. Besides going online, the company also created a PokerStars live poker room in the casino. It remains the only official PokerStars live room in the United States. After a soft launch, Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board granted the operator approval to launch to the masses. To this day, PokerStars remains the top producer online in the state monthly.

April 27, 2021 saw the launch of two sites that share the same server – BetMGM launched online poker under the Hollywood Casino Grantville’s license, while Borgata also joined the party when they launched under the River’s Philadelphia license. Then on July 12, 2021 WSOP entered the market with a soft launch. After a few days of testing the site went live on July 15.

Operators in Pennsylvania, provide iGaming options to a population of over 12.96 million residents in the Keystone State. Each site offers a host of traditional poker games, while popular events include multi-table tournaments (MTTS), sit and go tournaments (SNGS), monthly promotions, jackpot-style tournaments, cash games, play money games, and satellite events.

Read on to see our favorite features of the legal online poker operators in Pennsylvania:

BetMGM/Borgata

BetMGM and Borgata are affiliated to two different land-based casinos in Pennsylvania but share the same online player pool. On April 27, 2021 BetMGM launched online poker under the Hollywood Casino Grantville’s license while Borgata also launched under the River’s Philadelphia license.

The sites offer daily tournaments and regular cash games. These cash games range to all different sizes. The poker site is available on mobile and desktop across all operating systems and is merged with the BetMGM casino and sportsbook app for added loyalty bonus points. The BetMGM poker site currently averages 55 players online over a seven-day period (based on data collected by pokerscout.com in October 2022). The site sees most of its traffic during its monthly online promotional series that run about 10 days each month. BetMGM skins currently do not share liquidity with any other state.

BetMGM’s standout features include:

• MGM Resorts M Life Rewards Program is used throughout the US

• Monthly online poker tournament series

• Progressive knockout (PKO) tournaments

• Skins – Borgata

PokerStars

PokerStars is available on mobile or desktop across all operating platforms. The site currently averages about 180 players online over a seven-day period (according to statistics), and sees most of its traffic in big Sunday tournaments. The operator provides live partnered events in Pennsylvania where players can win buy-ins to big PokerStars tournaments. This includes the famous Platinum Passes give aways for a $25,000 buy-in poker tournament.

PokerStars has many perks, including:

• Great operational software systems

• Pennsylvania Championship of Online Poker (PACOOP) tournaments

• Spin and go tournaments

• Strong and responsive social media presence.

World Series of Poker

WSOP is available on all operating systems and can be accessed via mobile or desktop. WSOP.com currently averages about 60 players online over a seven-day window (based on statistics), with the site drawing most of its player traffic on WSOP Circuit events monthly and the popular Online Bracelet events.

WSOP site highlights include:

• Monthly circuit ring events

• Direct satellites to the WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas

• Online Bracelet Tournaments

Even though laws have been passed to allow the merger of player pools in other states, no other online operator besides New Jersey and Nevada has a shared player pool with any other legal state as of October 2022. Players are hoping for an expanded compact merger in 2023.

Signing up to an online poker operator may seem confusing – especially if you have never gambled online before. However, the process is straightforward – just follow the simple steps below and you’ll be playing online poker sooner than expected:

1. Select one of our recommended Pennsylvania poker operators. You can visit your chosen operator on mobile or desktop, or download the relevant app.

2. Click ‘sign-up’ or ‘register’. This process will be similar across all operators and platforms, and you will need to input personal information such as your full name, date of birth, address, phone number and email. You may also be required to enter part of your Social Security number. Most of the information is required in the same format that it is displayed on your driving license or state ID.

3. Players are then asked to provide a unique username and password, and you may be asked to confirm your email and identity. New players may be asked to provide follow up documents, such as a picture of their license or social security card. Players may also be asked to submit a mobile number for two-factor authentication to log in to the site.

4. Once all your personal information is confirmed, you can make a deposit on the site. Go to the cashier section, choose a payment method and deposit amount, and follow the instructions to fund your account. Enter any relevant bonus codes and satisfy any welcome bonus deposit requirements to earn maximum rewards.

5. You do not have to live in Pennsylvania to sign up for a site, but to legally play you must be physically located within PA state boundaries at time of bets being made. Poker operators verify this by using geolocation services so you may have to allow this on your phone to access the sites. The system used is called GeoGuard. Players may need to turn on wifi or enable their location on their phone to play. All players must be 21 or older to play poker online in the Keystone State.

6. Use your cash and bonus funds to play your favorite poker games. If you win, revisit the cashier page and follow the instructions to withdraw.

Pennsylvania Online Poker Bonuses & Promotions

Pennsylvania poker sites have many different welcome bonuses for new players. Each site in PA offers credit for players to use practising on free games, but online players more often take advantage of real money bonuses in the form of no deposit sign up promotions and matched offers.

Visit your preferred Pennsylvania poker site to start building a bankroll using these bonuses:

Welcome Bonus

• BetMGM/ Borgata bonuses

  • $75 in free tournament tickets on deposit

  • 100% match up to $1,000 on deposit

• PokerStars bonuses

  • $50 in free tournament tickets (no deposit necessary)

  • Tickets released as follows:

    • On Day 1: Two $5 Spin & Go tickets

    • On Day 3: Two $5 Spin & Go tickets and one $10 ticket

    • On Day 5: Two $10 tickets

  • 100% match up to $600 on Deposit

• WSOP bonuses

  • $25 free on sign up (no deposit necessary)

  • $25 free on first deposit

  • 100% match up to $1,000 on deposit

  • $100 freeroll tournament once a $10 deposit is made

Loyalty Programs

BetMGM M Life Rewards

At BetMGM Poker, players earn 5.6 reward points for every $1 in rake. Online players must rake $70.40 to release $20 of your bonus. Money does not have to be re-played through at that point.

Bonus comp dollars can also be used in retail BetMGM casinos across the country using the M Life Rewards program. Players’ comp cards will be matched to their online accounts.

PokerStars Chest Rewards

PokerStars’ online Chest Rewards system has six levels of rewards. Each chest has different values, and the higher the Chest Level, the more rewards you’ll win. The number of reward points you accrue within 28 days determines the size of your chest rewards. The system resets after that point. Poker players earn 100 reward points for every $1 paid in rake in online real money games.

WSOP Loyalty Program

The WSOP Poker Rewards program is linked to Caesars Entertainment’s Caesars Rewards program, with players able to accumulate wagering points across multiple platforms. You will then be able to redeem these points for a prize of your choice, including tournament tickets and free play. You can also redeem these points for cash back or use them as loyalty points in retail Caesars properties to earn higher tiers.

The WSOP loyalty program sees players receive two points for every $1 in rake collected at a table during a standard game, while you will receive two points for every $1 in fees paid during tournaments.

Playthrough Requirements

BetMGM Playthrough Requirements

Players that take advantage of BetMGM’s promotions have to earn iRewards to clear the bonuses. Funds are cleared 10% at a time and need to be played through 14x to be released. So for $100 deposited, players would need to clear 140 iReward points to get $10.

Poker players gain 5.5 iRewards points for every dollar spent on a tournament buy-in. In cash games, for every $1 raked, a player also earns 5.5 iReward points. Players have 120 days to use these bonuses.

BetMGM also has some of the best comps in the industry. Players can use points for live casino rewards or convert them into MGM Rewards Points for room nights and experiences at over 20 MGM Resort properties nationwide.

PokerStars Playthrough Requirements

Pennsylvania poker players can get up to $600 for a deposit bonus with PokerStars. They will receive $10 for ever 180 Redemption Points (RPs) earned, and 5 RPs are accrued for every $1 in tournament buy-in or raked cash games. RPs are cleared on every live cash game and also set rates on tournaments, and players have 120 days from the deposit date to clear the bonus.

WSOP Playthrough Requirements

WSOP.com allows players to earn Action Player Points (APPs). These points can be gained by playing cash games or real money tournaments.

To clear WSOP bonuses, the following regulations apply:

• The first bonus $10 clears at a rate of $1 per 10 APPs.

• After the first $10 bonus, $50 can then be unlocked at a rate of $5 for every 50 APPs accumulated.

• The final release rate occurs at $10 for every 100 APPs.

• Apps are cleared on every live cash game and also set rates on tournaments.

• The bonus must be cleared with in 60 days.

Pennsylvania Poker Tournaments

Pennsylvania poker sites mainly offer no-limit hold ’em and Omaha-style tournaments. These often include progressive and bounty knockout tournaments. The sites also offer freezeouts, turbos, deepstacks and satellites. Each site runs multiple daily tournaments and generally offers a major event tournament series once a month.

Knockout Tournaments (KO)

Also known as bounty tournaments, knockout tournaments are popular in the poker community. Players earn a predetermined cash prize for every opponent they knock out.

Progressive Knockout Tournaments (PKO)

Progressive knockout tournaments (PKO) are unique bounty tournaments. When a player is taken out by another player, that winner receives 50% of the loser's bounty.

The other 50% is added to the winning player’s own collective bounty. Bounties keep rising every time a player eliminates another, which means that near the end of the tournament bounties can be worth a lot of money.

Live Tournament Satellites

Paying entry to events such as the WSOP Main Event ($10,000) can be a lot of money for players. Online players can instead play in weekly satellites – smaller buy-in qualifying tournaments – online to win seats into these headline events for as little as $1. BetMGM also hosts online satellites to major events in Las Vegas. Sites like Pokerstars give players a chance to win seats into the Players Championship tournament located in the Bahamas every January.

Turbos

For players that do not have all day and night to grind out a tournament, turbos consist of an accelerated format that allows players to finish an event in around four hours. The structures (e.g., blinds, antes and payouts) usually increase every five minutes.

Super Turbos

To take it one step further, super turbos are generally completed in under three hours. The blind levels usually increase about every three minutes. These are perfect events for recreational players that want to kill some time and still make it to work the next morning.

Guaranteed Prize Pools

Online poker rooms will offer guaranteed prize pools for different events. The guarantees can range from $500-$250,000+, depending on the series tournament. The poker operator guarantees that no matter the amount of the entries, the prize pool will still be there to win. If there are less players than required to generate the funds, this is called an overlay. That means the poker site is responsible to cover the money needed to fulfill the guarantee.

Special Formats

Some special tournaments such as mixed games, pot limit Omaha, seven-card stud, and other additional games can sometimes be found on Pennsylvania poker sites.

Jackpot Sit & Gos

Jackpot sit & gos (SNGS) are a mix of slots and poker. These small tournaments may include three or four people and offer bonuses that aren't known to the players until the game starts. Each player buys in for a certain amount and plays until there is a winner. At the end a special prize amount is awarded as a jackpot. These can payout big wins occasionally.

Types of Poker Games Available in Pennsylvania

Online poker sites in Pennsylvania offer many different variations of the popular game. No limit hold ‘em (NLHE) is widely regarded as the most popular, but there are plenty of other options available and sites will sometimes also include special variants. These events generally pop up during major series, and can be lots of fun to try.

Texas Hold ‘em

Texas hold ‘em can be played in no limit, limit or pot-limit fashion. This is currently the most popular game in the US. You receive two cards in the hole before five community cards are spread across the felt for all players to use. You must use the best five cards to make your hand.

Omaha

The second most popular poker format in most of the United States is Omaha. As with hold ‘em, players can play in no limit, limit or pot limit. Pot limit is the most popular and this is referred to commonly as PLO. Omaha plays almost identically to regular hold ‘em, except a player gets four hole cards instead of two. Out of those four cards, players must only use two in their hand to complete their best five-card hand.

Open-Faced Chinese Poker

One of the newest poker trends in the last 10 years is a game called open-face Chinese poker (OFCP) – a variant of Chinese poker. Players start with five cards and are then given one card at a time until they reach 13 in their hand. Players must make rows of their strongest hands, with three cards in their front row and five cards each in the middle and back rows. Despite its name, the game variation is said to have originated in Finland.

Three-Card Poker

Three-card poker is a table game found in both retail and online casinos. Unlike other forms of poker, three-card is played against the house and not against other players. The goal of the game is for the player’s hand to beat the dealer’s hand.

Stud Poker

One of the oldest forms of poker is stud poker. This game is still popular on the east coast but is generally not played as much online. Stud poker today usually includes seven-card stud. In seven-card players must make the best five-card hand. Four out of each player's seven cards are exposed to the table face up. Earlier formats included five-card stud, but that game is rarely seen anymore. Stud is generally popular on the east coast.

When it comes to making a deposit, Pennsylvania poker players have many options to pick from. Regulated sites allow players to choose a method which best suits their needs.

Some examples of ways deposits can be made include the following:

• Credit or debit card (Visa/Mastercard).

• Direct bank deposits.

• Direct cash deposits at physical casinos.

• eCheck bank payments (ACH transfers).

• eWallets such as Neteller, Paypal
.

• PayNearMe cash deposits at 7-Eleven and Family Dollar stores.

• Prepaid/gift cards – Play+ and Paysafecard gift card deposits.

Live Poker Rooms in Pennsylvania

Nine legal live poker rooms are currently available in Pennsylvania for players to play in. Each brick-and-mortar poker room falls under the watch of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) for regulations and procedures.

The list of active poker rooms in the state include:

Future of Online Poker in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania is the number one online poker state in the United States, according to revenue reports. There has been consistent year-on-year growth for poker and iGaming since the launch of the online gaming industry in the Keystone State. With almost 13 million residents, live poker rooms and big-name online operators, there is no reason why PA will not continue to hold sway as one of the biggest gaming states in the union.

Additionally, a major boost in poker popularity is likely to occur as operators (including WSOP.com) merge player pools with other states. Currently only New Jersey and Nevada have shared player pools, but once other states can combine forces, major prize pools will be available and should attract the masses.

Rush Street Interactive has also confirmed in 2022 that they plan to launch online poker in the near future. This can be expected to run under either their BetRivers platform or their partnership with Run It Once Poker. This will most likely launch under the Rivers Pittsburgh live casino, since Rivers Philadelphia is already affiliated with Borgata.

Pennsylvania Responsible Gambling Resources

• – Provides a free helpline, resources on problem gambling, and puts on educational events. (800) 522-4700

• – Offers an online chat, helpline, and links to further support organizations. (800) 522-4700

• – Runs regular meetings in Pennsylvania that struggling bettors can attend for support. (909) 931-9056

Pennsylvania sports betting laws require every sportsbook to offer responsible-gambling resources and support, including tools like , allowing you to block your own access to sports betting voluntarily. More tools allow you to control your betting, spending limits, and time spent on a sportsbook site. Sportsbook websites must also include links to problem gambling support organizations.