PokerStars to launch in Pennsylvania next week

After a lot of speculation Pennsylvania becomes the 4th US State to offer legal online poker with the industry giant being the first operator.

The very long, slow, march towards the return of online poker in the United States had another win this week with the confirmation that PokerStars will go live in Pennsylvania next week. 

They will be the first regulated online poker room in the State and could be soft launching as soon as November 4, according to PlayPennsylvania. This will be the second State where PokerStars is offered, alongside New Jersey. 

The launch will be in conjunction with Mount Airy Casino. In the US, online poker rooms have to partner with land based casinos as part of the terms of them being granted a license. This is expected to be a soft test launch before a wider roll out to the entire State. 

Players have to be 21 years old and while it is not necessary to be Pennsylvania residents, they do have to be located in Pennsylvania while they play. It will be an Intrastate site, meaning everyone at the tables will be in Pennsylvania, it doesn't share liquidity with the other legal US poker States. The full range of game types are expected to be on offer, with the exception of Zoom and Spin & Go, during the test launch phase. 

It has been a positive week for online poker in the United States as over the weekend Presidential hopeful Andrew Yang tweeted his support for online poker in the US. However, as poker is only legal online in New Jersey, Nevada, Delaware and now Pennsylvania, it is still very much an uphill battle for the game in the Land of the Free. 

Which State will be next? Let us know in the comments: