Any time soon, poker fans will be able to play in a legal and regulated online poker industry in the Keystone State. Pennsylvanian gambling authorities are putting the final touches to the industry’s legal framework before sites can go live with their online poker and casino games. While no date for the launch has been announced yet, players are waiting impatiently for real money online gambling to finally become a reality in Pennsylvania.
Who will become the main players in the Pennsylvania online poker market? We will be seeing familiar names such as PokerStars, 888Poker and PartyPoker – sites which have become almost household names among online poker fans. PokerStars has linked with Mounty Airy, Harrah’s will be courting the WSOP, Caesars and 888Poker brands, while Valley Forge has partnered with PartyPoker.com. We will also see a bevy of newcomers to the market. Time will tell how they fit in with the more established brands and what they have to offer in this cut-throat market.
Players may be wondering how they will be able to pay for their online poker entertainment. If truth by told, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has not yet made public the names of the deposit and withdrawal methods that will be available to players. It is believed that this is among the issues still being hammered out by the authority before real money online games go live.
Looking ahead, it is still not clear if Pennsylvania will consider joining the current tri-state compact signed between New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware. Many believe that it is absolutely critical for the success of the state’s online poker industry that Pennsylvania joins this compact, as lack of player liquidity is the number one reason for a site’s failure. By joining the compact, the player pool for licensed online poker games will literally double the numbers for US online poker players. One hurdle to this however, is that for Pennsylvania to join, all four states must give their approval. For the time being, players will be limited to intrastate online gambling via geolocation technology.
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