Most online poker legislation appears at the beginning of the calendar year. State lawmakers introduce bills in January or February, and they try to gain committee approval and then floor votes. That is an oversimplification of the process, but the timeline typically starts early in the year. Ohio likes to
The first half of 2024 was a mixed bag for state-licensed and regulated online poker in the United States market. The H1 numbers showed some growth in the poker sector only due to shared liquidity and the recent relaunch of the Caesars/WSOP poker site connecting its New Jersey, Nevada, and
Pennsylvania may have legalized online poker in 2017, years before Michigan, but it has yet to join the multi-state liquidity agreement. One lawmaker in Pennsylvania wants to change that. Long Road to Liquidity When Pennsylvania legalized online poker and casino games in late 2017, it was the fourth state in
As 2024 got underway, state-regulated online poker in the United States with the same number of participating states as the year before. No new states legalized online poker and/or casino games in 2023, though lawmakers in numerous states proposed bills. There was some progress in the industry in 2023. Michigan
In September, Georgia police officers raided a poker room. In October, representatives of Entain Foundation met with lawmakers to work toward a comprehensive yet reasonable gambling proposal to introduce into the state legislature in 2024. These two events are not directly related. Entain Foundation does not support or have any
There have been several surprises in the 2023 legislative sessions across America with regard to igaming proposals. Maine is one of those. In a surprise move – and one that took place quite late in the session – Maine lawmakers put a bill on the table to consider igaming as
Another state in 2023 fails to legalize online casino games and poker. This case involves New Hampshire. While it is not usually a state on the “most likely to legalize igaming” list, the 2023 proposal appeared to have some momentum. It helped that other nearby states – Connecticut, West Virginia,
Not many people saw it coming. But by the time they realized it was happening, it was already a moot matter. It turns out that an Iowa lawmaker wanted to plant the seed for online gaming in Iowa for the future, and he did it with a 2023 bill that
Illinois has tried to expand its gambling industry in many ways. In 2019, the state’s governor approved a casino right in the greater Chicago area. That same year, he signed the Sports Wagering Act into law to allow retail sportsbooks at casinos in the state, as well as online sports
It has happened in other states, and Kentucky is doing it, too. Consideration for legal online poker and casino games falls off the map due to a nationwide obsession with sports betting. In fact, Kentucky lawmakers found the time to pass a bill – already signed by the governor –
Another year of New York online poker bills appears poised to end in disappointment for poker players yet again. The trend began in 2014, with an Assembly bill – always sponsored by Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow – that goes nowhere. Senate bills each year do the same, though they’ve changed
Online poker supporters – and advocates of igaming – can look away from Indiana once again. For yet another year, Indiana lawmakers introduced a bill to legalize internet gambling, something that would assuredly deliver hundreds of millions of dollars per year in gaming revenue and tens of millions per year
