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PokerStars PA to Soft Launch on Monday

It has been a couple of months since online gambling has launched in Pennsylvania. At that time, online poker failed to launch. However, that’s all about to change after multiple sources have confirmed that PokerStars will begin the soft-launch of PokerStars PA on November 4th.

This will make PokerStars the first online poker site in Pennsylvania and will give the company a foothold in the two largest regulated online poker markets in the United States.

PokerStars Begins Soft Launch on November 4th

The launch of PokerStars in Pennsylvania was revealed on Wednesday during a meeting of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. During that meeting, PGCB spokesperson Douglas Harbach informed reporters that Mount Airy Casino will soft launch their online casino site and online poker site starting Monday, November 4th.

Mount Airy is partnered with The Stars Group for online poker, so this means that PokerStars PA will be soft-launching. PokerStars confirmed this, stating that they were bringing their most popular brands to PA next week.

For those unfamiliar with the soft launch process, all regulated online gambling and online poker states begin with a brief testing period known as a soft launch. During that time, players can play real money online poker from 2 PM through Midnight. During this time, testing for the online poker site will be conducted to ensure that games are running fairly and that there are no significant glitches.

If all goes well during the soft launch, the full launch immediately follows. In the case of PokerStars PA, the soft launch will run from November 4th through 5th and the site should begin 24/7 operations on November 6th.

PokerStars Will Likely Not Be Alone Long

For now, PokerStars will have a monopoly on the online poker market in Pennsylvania. However, don’t expect that to last long as two other sites are expected to launch in the near future. Caesars is partnered with 888 Holdings and will offer WSOP.com PA. Valley Force Casino Resort is partnered with partypoker.

Keep in mind that PokerStars PA will be ring-fenced, meaning that only players physically located in Pennsylvania will be able to play on the site. Due to the uncertain status of the Federal Wire Act, you can rule out the site joining forces with New Jersey for shared liquidity. The same will hold true for the future WSOP.com PA and partypoker PA.

Pennsylvania regulators are requiring that operators comply with the revised memo from the DOJ regarding the Wire Act. This means that operators will not be allowed to partner with other regulated markets. If the DOJ loses its appeal of the NH Wire Act lawsuit, this could change.

What’s Next for Online Poker in the United States

After the launch of PokerStars and subsequent online poker rooms in Pennsylvania, don’t expect much from the regulated online poker market until at least the middle of 2020. West Virginia is the only other state that has regulated online gambling and online poker, and it will take until sometime next year before we see any sites launched.

In addition, there are few states making serious progress toward online gambling regulation outside of sports betting. Candidates for future expansion include Michigan, New York, and Rhode Island, but none are close enough to bank on for next year.

For most states considering online gambling, progress hinges on the outcome of the NH Wire Act lawsuit. If the DOJ loses the appeal, they will likely move on to the Supreme Court. If they win, NH will likely appeal. In either case, we don’t expect the matter to resolve before the end of 2020 at the earliest.

Outside of New Jersey, we may not see much in the way of progress towards regulated online poker in the United States until sometime in 2021.

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