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PokerStars Now Offering Online Poker in Michigan

Last week, Michigan launched online casino gambling and online sports betting. At the time poker failed to launch. Fortunately, the state did not have to wait long for legal online poker to launch.

On Friday, PokerStars officially launched in the Wolverine State. For now, PokerStars will enjoy a monopoly for online poker. Michigan is the third state where PokerStars offers online poker legally.

PokerStars Now Live in Michigan

It only took a week for legal online poker to launch following the launch of online casino gambling in Michigan. On Friday, PokerStars and Fox Bet both launched in the state. Fox Bet will be the online casino and sports betting option for Flutter Entertainment in the state.

PokerStars officially announced its launch at 3:30 PM on Friday via press release. However, the launch was not smooth. First, many potential players had problems downloading the client. There was a temporary workaround for the issue, but the matter has since been resolved.

Next, several deposit options did not work for players. Players had difficulty depositing using credit cards and PayPal. Those problems appear to be ongoing at this time.

Launch day issues are not uncommon for online poker sites. That is one reason that most states have a soft launch period for online gambling. The first few days are used to iron out any glitches, and then the site is allowed to offer a full launch.

Three States Now Offer Stars for Online Poker

Michigan is now the third state where PokerStars operates legally in the United States. New Jersey was the first state to offer PokerStars in the United States. The site is partnered with Resorts in New Jersey and Mount Airy Casino Resort in Pennsylvania.

For now, all three states offer intrastate only online poker. However, this could change in the next year. New Jersey already allows interstate compacts for online poker and Michigan recently legalized interstate online poker. The Michigan Gambling Control Board is apparently already working on a compact with the NJ Division of Gaming Enforcement. This may mean a networked PokerStars could be launching by the end of 2021.

The players in Michigan now have a 🪑 on the first poker site launched in the state.
PokerStars, Stars Casino and @FOXBet are live in MI.
ℹ️ https://t.co/KY205QFUXE pic.twitter.com/8519JUIPl0

— PokerStarsUSA (@PokerStarsUSA) January 31, 2021

For Pennsylvania, it may be a while before we see interstate online poker. Due to the uncertain status of the Wire Act, the state structured online gambling to comply with the DOJ’s interpretations. Now that the Wire Act matter is settled, the state could look into legalizing interstate compacts. However, we have no idea when that would be.

Will PokerStars Remain a Monopoly?

In Pennsylvania, PokerStars has remained a monopoly for online poker since its launch. It is likely the site will remain a monopoly until the state gives operators a reason to enter the state, such as interstate online poker.

For Michigan, things are already different. There are plenty of partners available for partypoker and WSOP.com to launch and the state has legalized interstate compacts. As such, we could see both sites as options in the state with both potentially launching later this year.

WSOP.com would be the most logical option for launch since they could already network with New Jersey, Nevada, and Delaware. This would give Michigan players an option for competing for WSOP circuit rings and maybe even WSOP bracelets.

However, it is unlikely that we will see WSOP.com launch before the Summer or Fall. It is much more likely that they will wait until interstate compacts are in place before launching. That way they could potentially launch the site as a networked online poker room. As such, it may be some time in 2022 before we see WSOP.com launch in Michigan. Until then, players will have to settle with playing at PokerStars.

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