The recent refusal of the DOJ to appeal the latest ruling in the Wire Act case effectively removes a major legal barrier to interstate deals. This is great news for online poker in the US, as regulated markets such as Pennsylvania and Michigan can now form their own compact or participate in the existing Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA) currently in effect between New Jersey, Nevada, and Delaware.
Operators which have already established a presence in those states will hugely benefit from such compacts, as they can now combine their player pool from multiple markets. One of the operators on course for more growth in the US once interstate deals come into play is PokerStars.
PokerStars USA Network
PokerStars is the biggest online poker site in the world and now operates in three states: New Jersey, Michigan and Pennsylvania. The operator lags behind WSOP.com in the NJ market, but currently enjoys unparalleled dominance in both the Keystone and Wolverine states.
The potential addition of PA and MI to the existing MSIGA would make PokerStars USA one of the biggest online poker networks not only in the US, but throughout the world. It would have access to a combined population of more than 31 million in the US alone, as huge as the global player pools of 888poker, partypoker, and iPoker.
With PA and MI joining the MSIGA, PokerStars would also introduce changes to how it holds its popular Championship of Online Poker (COOP) tournament in the US, which runs in the spring and fall. Instead of hosting three separate festivals in NJ, PA and MI, the operator would now be able to hold a single tournament series with an even bigger guarantee, which players from all three states can take part in.
The massive series could be named USASCOOP (in spring), and USACOOP (during the fall).
What’s In Store for USASCOOP/USACOOP Players?
USASCOOP/USACOOP would become among the biggest online poker festivals in the country.
The most recent trio of US SCOOP festivals hosted by PokerStars featured over $5 million in combined guarantees: PASCOOP and MISCOOP each guaranteed $2 million, while NJSCOOP featured $1.2 million in guaranteed prize money.
This means that if players from all three states combine to form a single pool, they’d be able to compete for a minimum guarantee of $5 million, or even higher than that, considering the impact of a larger player liquidity.
The Main Event could feature at least $500,000 in guarantee, which could also go as high as $650,000. With bigger player liquidity involved, more varied games would be added to the schedule, which would likely include Stud games, as well as mixed games.
PokerStars’ US market would grow even further once it launches in both West Virginia and Connecticut, and if both states also eventually decide to join the interstate pact, the total prize money up for grabs in PokerStars’ USASCOOP/USACOOP series could go anywhere between $7 million and $9 million.
PokerStars vs. WSOP.com
The only operator which could compete with PokerStars in that aspect is WSOP.com, which is currently benefiting from the existing shared liquidity agreement between New Jersey, Nevada, and Delaware.
The Caesars-owned online poker site, which is powered by the 888poker software, is also well-known for hosting some of the biggest tournament series in the country. It recently launched in Pennsylvania, and will also go live in Michigan this year.
At the height of the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, WSOP.com played host to the record-breaking WSOP Online Championships, which featured $6 million in guaranteed prize pool, headlined by a $400K GTD Main Event. However, with the reopening of the live poker scene and the lifting of pandemic-related restrictions in the US, it’s unlikely that the operator would be able to pull off another event of a similar magnitude.
There’s no doubt that interstate compacts would give a massive boost to PokerStars’ US operations, allowing it to further cement its reputation as the leading online poker site in the world.