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Partypoker Not Coming to Pennsylvania – For Now

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Online poker in Pennsylvania is a monopoly at this point with PokerStars being the only provider. Poker players were hoping this was about to change, but it appears that plans to bring partypoker into the state are on hold, at least for now.

According to reports, licensing for BetMGM will be delayed until at least September. A recent regulatory hearing was supposed to consider a license for a BetMGM subsidiary, but that didn’t happen.

Evolution and Unibet Receive Full Licenses

On Wednesday, August 5th, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board held its monthly meeting to consider iGaming licenses. During that hearing, the company approved licenses for both Evolution Gaming and Unibet.

The Unibet license was expected as the company has been operating in the state since November 2019. The company operates both an online sportsbook and online casino in Pennsylvania and also powers the retail sportsbook at Mohegan Sun Pocono.

For Evolution Gaming, the license was not as clear cut. The company will now have a monopoly on Live Dealer gaming in the state much as it has in Pennsylvania. One condition of the license is that the company must hosts it’s live gaming studio within Pennsylvania’s borders. An announcement has not been made by the company regarding the studio, but since they have received a full license, it is likely coming soon.

BetMGM Partner Not On Docket

One of the licenses that were supposed to be decided was Roar Digital. The company is a subsidiary of MGM Resorts International and would operate under the license provided to BetMGM. However, the company was not part of the meeting on August 5th. A reason was not stated at the time.

What this does mean is that partypoker is not coming to Pennsylvania, at least not for now. Roar Digital had applied for an online poker license and it was expected they would use partypoker in the state, similar to what BetMGM is doing in New Jersey.

However, this is likely just a minor delay. The PGCB will meet again next month, and there is a good chance that the license will be decided at that point. Of course, that will further push the launch of partypoker in the Keystone State until at least the fall.

Why This Isn’t a Big Deal

If this were any other year, I would be a bit more concerned for the state of online poker in Pennsylvania. However, this is 2020 and with the pandemic, I am not as concerned. Everything is working at a slower pace due to the pandemic, and that includes online gambling expansion.

Also, partypoker has already missed the boat regarding what’s considered the “prime poker time” in the United States. With the WSOP now online and the live version likely canceled for 2020, the company doesn’t have as much financial motivation to move forward.

One has to also consider the potential legal ramifications of the Wire Act appeal. While Pennsylvania will continue to operate online poker and online gambling regardless of how the verdict turns out, the appeal could impact the long-term viability of online poker.

If the Wire Act appeal is successful for the government, this will effectively ring-fence Pennsylvania, and the viability of online poker is greatly reduced. The long-term viability hinges on the ability to join interstate networks, whether that is PokerStars, partypoker, or the WSOP.com version.

The pandemic will not likely not be officially declared over until sometime in the Spring as most figure that a second wave is coming this winter. What would make more sense is for partypoker to launch closer to winter and take advantage of any potential new quarantines put into place. For now, let’s just let the legal process play out.

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