Online poker is finally coming to Pennsylvania. And the first online poker room to launch will be PokerStars on Monday, Nov. 4, Play Pennsylvania has confirmed.
During the Wednesday’s Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board meeting, when asked about online poker coming to PA, (PGCB) spokesperson Douglas Harbach told Play PA:
“We have staff prepared to initiate and oversee a test launch this Monday of another online casino gaming site, this one licensed under Mount Airy Casino and their suite of casino-type games. At this juncture, it would include the testing of a poker game. The caveat is always that if issues come up, then the beginning of the testing could slide.”
Online gambling becomes bigger with addition of poker
July 15 was the official start date for Pennsylvania online casinos. Three online casinos launched within a couple of days of that date:
- PlaySugarHouse
- Hollywood Casino
- Parx
The online casinos debuted with a limited library of games and no poker. Three poker networks/companies have partnerships with PA casinos. They are:
- PokerStars and Mount Airy Casino
- PartyPoker and Valley Forge Casino Resort
- 888/WSOP.com and Caesars
Over the course of the summer and early fall, Play Pennsylvania was continuously told that online poker is “coming soon.”
Online Poker Report speculated that September might be poker’s magic month. The rumor mill said it “won’t be long before PokerStars unveils the state’s first online poker site.”
PA poker players are eager tweeters
Play Pennsylvania sees (and tries to reply) to the number of tweets asking about online poker. The PGCB says they also receive questions from eager PA online poker players.
“There is no doubt there is a market out there for Pennsylvania poker players,” said Harbach. “There is an excitement about it getting unveiled but, at this point, we are still waiting for the operators to be in a position to launch the poker games.”
Projecting online poker in PA
Pennsylvania poker players are eagerly sitting at the keyboard, waiting for online poker to launch.
But the launch may not make a big impact on the bottom line for PA. Take a look at New Jersey’s August online gambling revenue numbers:
- Casinos: $39.4 million
- Sports betting: $19.2 million
- Poker sites: $1.7 million
Not only do online poker’s revenues pale in comparison, but it’s also suffering from a slow decline since launch in New Jersey.
Still, Pennsylvania has a larger population and potential pool of poker players, so many are hopeful that PA online poker will shine.
The post PokerStars Scheduled To Soft Launch Pennsylvania Online Poker On Nov. 4 appeared first on Play Pennsylvania.