A state lawmaker is pushing Governor Josh Shapiro to enter the MSIGA (Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement). This move could bring online poker to Pennsylvania.
State Representative George Dunbar introduced House Bill 2078. It would initiate the process through the legislative body. It would not rely on action from the governor. Technically, there is nothing stopping Pennsylvania from entering the multi-state compact. This compact includes states like Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware, Michigan, and West Virginia.
Dunbar wrote in a memorandum to his fellow House members on February 14. He said that this action is also known as shared liquidity. It is critical to a healthy online poker system. Joining MSIGA will expand the overall player pool, similar to what we’ve seen with multistate lottery contests. This makes for bigger tournaments allowing operators to offer bigger guarantees.
Dunbar is also a poker player. He recently spoke about his efforts to bring shared liquidity to The Keystone State with its 13 million residents.
He is also a Republican and has poker roots that date back to his childhood. Dunbar added that he has always been a poker player. Even as a little kid playing for pennies.
Dunbar began playing on online sites like partypoker and Full Tilt Poker. He was relatively successful at that time before Black Friday shutdown online poker in the United States.
He stated that he had quite a bit of dollars tied up when Black Friday came. However, the DOJ did make him whole eventually.
His experience with Black Friday encouraged him to write House Bill 271 in 2017. This is a bill in Pennsylvania that legalized and regulated online poker and casino games. Currently, Dunbar wants Pennsylvania to have a shared online poker pool.
He said that if you are a poker player, it means a lot. As a poker player, he noted a significant difference between playing a $20 or $30 buy-in tournament with 600 people compared to a few thousand people. There’s a world of difference there.
