Online Poker Legalization in the USA and Ontario: What It Means for Players

The online poker traffic in cash games has decreased by 10-15% since mid-February 2022.

Connecticut became the seventh state in the USA to legalize online poker. BetMGM (partypoker) captured 30% of the Michigan market in a year and successfully launched in Pennsylvania. WSOP.com is now available in four states: New Jersey, Nevada, Delaware, and Michigan. Run It Once Poker was sold by Phil Galfond for $5.8 million and may start operating in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Michigan in 2022.

The Wire Act, a 1961 law, has been a barrier to merging poker rooms from different states into a single pool. Players from New Jersey, Nevada, and Delaware can play together on WSOP.com, with Michigan potentially joining them within the year. Ontario legalized online gambling on April 4, 2022, allowing poker rooms to obtain licenses but restricting play to within the province. Poker rooms that have started the licensing process in Ontario can legally attract players to the international pool until the process is complete. MGM and 888poker began operations in Ontario on the first day of legalization.

TigerGaming offers daily leaderboards with prizes of $1,500 for cash game players from April 1 to 30. New players at TigerGaming can get a 100% bonus on their first deposit up to $1,000.