PokerStars continues to dominate the US regulated online poker market. The operator’s rooms in Pennsylvania and Michigan in particular are performing strongly despite fresh competition, and this could pave the way for PokerStars USA to become the biggest online poker network in the country.
PokerStars Rules The Roost
The latest cash game figures provided by GameIntel put PokerStars at the top spot, well above its major US rivals WSOP/888 and BetMGM. May 31 traffic shows PokerStars recording a total of 619 concurrent cash game seats filled across its rooms in New Jersey, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.
BetMGM, which is currently the only operator challenging PokerStars in each of the three separate pools, has recorded a total of 187 in cash game numbers.
WSOP.com still leads the NJ market, recording 189 concurrent cash game seats filled, followed by BerMGM with 100 and PokerStars with 91. But WSOP/888’s strong performance in NJ doesn’t have so much of an impact when figures from all regulated states are added in.
Combined with its cash game numbers in Nevada and Delaware, the WSOP/888 network, which is currently enjoying shared liquidity across the three states, has recorded just under 200 concurrent cash game seats, almost similar to BetMGM.
This means that when all of the cash game traffic across US regulated states are combined, PokerStars still remains the dominant player, nearly 40% bigger than both networks combined.
PokerStars’ sites in PA and MI have attracted the highest numbers across the US regulated online poker market. PokerStars PA has recorded 289 concurrent cash game players for May 31, while the figures recorded by its MI counterpart fall slightly below that at 239.
Biggest US Online Poker Network?
PokerStars entered Pennsylvania in November 2019, becoming the first online poker site to launch in the state. It operated there for over a year without competition, and achieved record-breaking success especially during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The operator subsequently expanded to Michigan in January of this year, also becoming the first licensed online poker room to serve MI players.
Like its PA counterpart, PokerStars MI also enjoyed early success. So far, it has hosted two major tournament series in the state, MICOOP and MISCOOP, both of which have been hugely successful. This year’s NJSCOOP and PASCOOP also drew massive turnouts.
PokerStars managed to attract the numbers despite facing competition from BetMGM which launched its MI and PA clients in March and April respectively. The entrance of WSOP.com in both the Keystone and Wolverine states by the end of June will again challenge PokerStars’ dominance in both states, but PokerStars knows how to dominate the market and hold on to the number one spot.
Overall, PokerStars’ SCOOP series held across the three US markets awarded over $6.35 million in total prize money, after attracting over 115,000 entries, setting a new record in the history of online poker in the US.
That alone is indicative of PokerStars’ huge potential to become the largest online poker network in the country, despite operating in just three US states. It is poised to achieve more growth when it expands in other markets as well.
PokerStars is no stranger to running an online poker network. It’s already benefiting from shared liquidity in the European markets of France and Spain. With its years of experience in the global scene, it would be much easier for the operator to establish a US network as essentially the same system will be adopted.
For now, the future of interstate online poker in the US lies on the outcome of the Wire Act case. But the recent positive developments are a clear indication that the US multi-state network will expand, maybe not now but in the near future, and when that finally occurs, PokerStars USA will be hard to beat. It will further cement its reputation as the world’s biggest online poker operator.