DraftKings has launched multi-state online poker in Michigan, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, pooling players across the three states under the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement after Michigan regulators cleared the product.
The Michigan Gaming Control Board said the launch took place on July 8. In Michigan, DraftKings runs the offering through Bay Mills Indian Community, its local partner.
The board said DraftKings passed a thorough review and met all of Michigan’s regulatory requirements for multi-state internet poker. Henry Williams, the board’s executive director, said the approval reflected the strength of the partnership with Bay Mills Indian Community and the thoroughness of the regulatory process.
Michigan’s bulletin on multistate poker says the product cannot begin under the Lawful Internet Gaming Act until the regulator enters a multijurisdictional internet gaming agreement. The board said its approach is to enable legal, regulated gaming while maintaining oversight tied to responsible gaming practices and industry integrity.
The cross-border network links common tables and tournament fields, rather than limiting players to a single state. Michigan joined MSIGA in 2022, and before then its online poker players could only compete against others in the state.
Pennsylvania’s governor, Josh Shapiro, signed the agreement accepting the state as the sixth MSIGA member, and the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board said the expansion gives more choice to an estimated 150,000 online poker players there. It also said the shared market covers more than 38 million Americans.
Michigan had already approved PokerStars on the FanDuel platform in April for multi-jurisdiction connectivity, according to Yogonet. Other MSIGA members are Delaware, Nevada, New Jersey and West Virginia, and DraftKings’ network could extend to other MSIGA states, including Nevada and West Virginia, pending regulatory clearance in each jurisdiction.
