WSOP Broadcast Deal Expands Global Coverage for 2026

Californias Governor Signs Sweeps Ban: What It Means For Online Poker Players

Meanwhile, the $10,000 6-Max Championship is still alive, with Fahredin Key Highlights Day 50 of the 2026 World Series of Poker delivered three new champions in Las Vegas. Jumalon entered heads-up play with the chip lead and converted that advantage into a championship victory. Parallel to Pretlow, Senator Joseph Addabbo has reintroduced a separate bill focused on broader iGaming legalization. This omission is likely a political compromise to reduce potential pushback from lawmakers who aren’t too set on seeing the bill passed into law. After several stalled attempts in recent years, the renewed push signals a potentially relevant moment for gambling in the Empire State.

This presents both risks — in terms of illegal operations and lack of safeguards — and opportunities, should governments begin to consider structured regulatory pathways. Official markets are locked down tight, but underground play is thriving. This journey the U.S. poker market finds itself on is not unfolding in a vacuum.

That leaves the state of online poker in the other 44 states up in the air. Before long, states all across the country were offering both live and online sports-betting options. For example, sports betting was banned by law in most states for decades, but a change in the interpretation of the Wire Act ultimately changed the landscape.

As of January 2026, there are no active bills that propose a method for licensing poker sites. In these jurisdictions, it’s often possible to access offshore poker sites, although it’s up to you to do the necessary research and due diligence before taking to the tables. Six of these states operate under the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA), allowing for shared liquidity and larger player pools. Players must be physically located within one of these states to play on licensed sites. Since there is no unified federal law authorizing or prohibiting poker platforms, every state determines for itself whether real-money poker may be offered within its borders.

There is no state-regulated poker in Alabama, where state law forbids almost all forms of gambling. The question of whether online poker is legal in the USA very much depends on your location. Under federal law, no statute directly criminalizes individuals for playing poker through offshore sites.

Ultimate Poker ultimately couldn’t hang and WSOP.com, backed by the major Caesars Entertainment brand, is now the lone legal poker site in the state. The only problem is, Nevada only has 3 million residents, which made it difficult for two poker sites to survive. Early on, the state had two poker sites in operation, competing against each other — Ultimate Poker and WSOP.com.

Other states like Wisconsin, California, and Florida, just to name a few, are allowed to offer poker via compacts between state and tribal gaming interests. Online poker is also legal in Connecticut, Maine and Rhode Island, but as of 2026 no operator has decided to launch there. With a population of 19.8 million, New York could bring huge liquidity if it entered a multi-state gaming compact with states like New Jersey, Michigan and Nevada. “Regulatory oversight is intended to safeguard the integrity of the games and participants and to ensure accountability and the public trust.” Rush Street Interactive also launched a poker product in Pennsylvania in 2024 and plans to expand. Pennsylvania (13 million) is also expected to join the MSIGA soon and Connecticut (3.7 million) is considering legislation to join.

Additionally, lawmakers have relaxed laws in recent years to permit home games. Lawmakers approved retail sports betting in 2019 but shot down a mobile sports betting proposal in 2022. Online poker was late to the game and was legalized in New Jersey in 2013 after poker’s Black Friday two years prior. The way this actually manifests is that hundreds of bars across the state serve as sort of hybrid entertainment locations, offering live poker, video poker, video lottery, keno, and off-track betting. Missouri law never truly addressed daily fantasy sports, leaving the state like others as a gray area with regard to DFS. On January 1, 2023, PokerStars became the first operator to link their Michigan player pool with another state.

That makes sense since he was vice president during the Obama Administration, whose DOJ released the initial opinion that allowed online gambling legislation to begin in earnest in the U.S. Fortunately for poker players in the U.S., the judges weren’t having it. The content of the opinion didn’t wasn’t a shock considering Republican megadonor Sheldon Adelson had long pushed for legislation banning online poker. The way may be clear for online poker legislation in the U.S. going forward.

Poker players universally wanted PA to enter the multistate market in order to enhance competition among players, provide access to larger prize pools, grow the poker industry, support smaller operators, and reduce unregulated play. This expansion of online gaming for poker creates more choice and freedom for an estimated 150,000 online poker players in Pennsylvania and expands the pool of online poker players by more than 50%. Playing on offshore poker sites isn’t explicitly illegal for players in certain states, according to federal laws; however, it may be unlawful under state law. Although some bills, such as House Study Bill 227, have suggested legalizing online poker sites and casinos, none of them have been approved by the relevant committees. The state allows regulated sports betting and daily fantasy contests but excludes internet-based casino games and peer-to-peer poker. California represents a huge potential market of players in the U.S., but it has not yet made online poker legal.

Several stakeholders and industry leaders spoke both in favor and against the bill in Wednesday’s General Law Committee public hearing, including DraftKings Government Affairs Manager David Prestwood. MSIGA currently includes Nevada, Michigan, Delaware, New Jersey and West Virginia. Based in the United Kingdom, Will started working for PokerNews as a freelance live reporter in 2015 and joined the full-time staff in 2019. Under Maine law, this allowed the bill to become law automatically after the expiration of a ten-day review period.

WSOP Broadcast Deal Expands Global Coverage for 2026

The Restoration of America’s Wire Act, also known as RAWA, was an attempt to reverse the 2011 DOJ decision regarding online gambling as restricted by the Wire Act. The 2011 memo relegating igaming and online lottery decisions to individual states became the national precedent once again. The Federal Wire Act, also known as the Interstate Wire Act of 1961, was the primary law enacted to specifically address sports betting and wagering across state lines using wire communication. For more information about Black Friday and its consequences, visit online poker history in the United States page. In 2017 alone, former UB and AP players were contacted for reimbursement opportunities, and by the end of November, approximately 12,000 players were paid a cumulative total of $37.5 million.

Poker players are far from the only gamblers who will be impacted by the bill, according to Kondler, who noted the sports bettors could be pushed to offshore gambling sites. Ray Kondler of Kondler CPA, a Las Vegas-based CPA firm specializing in gambling taxation, told PokerNews he expects that “Big Beautiful Bill” will “have a major effect on the industry,” both for recreational and professional poker players. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has signed a bill that bans online sweepstakes casinos, finalizing legislation that state lawmakers passed in June and marking another step in a nationwide crackdown on dual-currency gaming platforms. While live poker is permitted in the state of Wyoming, there is no legislation that allows for the playing of online poker. Pennsylvania legalized online poker and online casino games in 2017. Nebraska does not permit online poker, with live poker extremely limited, and only then within tribal casinos.

For players who have followed Ignition’s recent issues The Colossus draws players from every skill level, making it one of These operations often advertise “free play” with the option to purchase virtual coins for prizes, skirting traditional gambling laws. As of this draft, the bill wants to ensure responsible gambling practices by earmarking $25 million annually for casino employee training and mandating servers to be housed in state casinos.

Five Years of Skirting the Law

We offer daily poker and casino news, poker professionals’ blogs and tweets, exclusive gambling videos, thousands of free gambling articles, as well as coverage from all major poker tournaments in the world. The legislature has also seen four bills introduced to ban sweepstakes operators and give gaming regulators the ability to target illegal unlicensed gaming operators. At the time, senators expressed concern over cannibalization of the state’s live casino industry. Legislators will hold a hearing on Watson’s online casino and poker bills on March 11.

Some senators expressed an interest in regulating sweepstakes casinos rather than banning them, a move favored by the industry. HB 1052 would prohibit sweeps platforms from offering slots, video poker, table games, lottery, bingo, or sports wagering. Several states implemented new initiatives, including releasing regulations, launching sports betting operations, considering new legislation, and shifting regulatory authority. Regulated real-money california online poker remains a distant prospect. California’s legislature framed dual-currency sweepstakes as illegal gambling dressed as social play. When WPT’s sweeps room left two states this fall, it gave players between two weeks and one month to cash out.

Sen. Joseph Addabbo (D) said he hasn’t been able to galvanize enough support for a more expansive online gaming bill and as a result has introduced a more scaled-down version of the legislation. EvenBet can deploy in 4–6 weeks, with platforms stress-tested for 10,000+ concurrent players. RNG certification remains non-negotiable, but now players want more transparency. When Pennsylvania joined in 2025, it proved the point — player pools grew, games flowed, and everyone won. As of 2025, just five states — NJ, Nevada, Delaware, Michigan, and Pennsylvania — run legal poker rooms.

The state laws that apply to gambling in Pennsylvania are quite concise and pretty straightforward. The relevant legislation can be found in the state’s legal code in Volume 4 of the Oregon Revised Statutes, Crimes and Punishments, Chapter 167, General Welfare and Animal Offenses. There are parts of the North Dakota legal code that mention charitable poker, but that’s as close as we get to anything of note on the game. Having said that, there are still several offshore poker sites which offer services to New Yorkers.

Still, it could be a significant market if it’s allowed to share player pools with other states. It wasn’t until 2021 that WSOP/888poker and BetMGM/partypoker launched poker sites in Pennsylvania. Ultimate Gaming and Betfair were two of the original sites that failed to prosper enough to continue doing business, but 888poker and WSOP merged their sites to compete with Borgata/PartyPoker. Rush Street’s acquisition of Run It Once Poker provides the poker base for Delaware’s new poker product, but there was no indication as to a launch date. The end of the year saw a deal with Rush Street Interactive, which relaunched casino games in early 2024.

The Tennessee Sports Gaming Act does not allow brick-and-mortar sportsbooks. Bars and taverns in South Dakota have a limited number of “video lottery terminals” that offer keno, blackjack, bingo, and video poker. Legalized gambling in Rhode Island dates back to 1934 when voters approved parimutuel betting on horse races. People in Oregon can also legally wager real money on horse races and in lotteries. But those efforts have yet to culminate and North Dakota residents will have to wait to see if lawmakers change their minds.

This construct has long powered the largest sweeps poker market in the country. The model grants free Sweeps Coins tied to purchases of a fun currency, which can be used for poker and redeemed for cash. Those moves foreshadow broader poker exits now that the signature is in place.

Aggressive approach toward prosecuting illegal gambling is aimed primarily at the individuals or groups who are backing, running, or otherwise entangled in the business end of the activity. Devin O’Connor is a senior reporter for Casino.org, covering politics, casino business, and gaming news. “If we don’t fix this misguided provision, people would be discouraged from visiting casinos and Nevada’s tourism economy would take a hit.”

• The formalization of iGaming also empowers authorities to implement comprehensive player protection policies.
• Since Addabbo introduced SB 9226 as a standalone online-poker measure with other forms of online gambling removed from earlier measures, neither he nor his office have issued any statement specific to the bill.
• Online casinos are legal in some of the states that border Ohio (for example Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Michigan) so Ohioans can legally play online poker by crossing into any of those states.
• They attached anti-online gambling language to the SAFE Port Act, and fellow Senators Bill Frist and Jon Kyl pushed the bill through the Senate.
• They have a shared poker player pool with Nevada and all three state casinos have their real money online games on a shared 888 Poker network.

Live poker is available within social clubs, rather than casinos, where fees are generally paid as membership dues and/or seat hire, rather than rake. Given the small population, joining a multi-state compact would be all-but-required for a sustainable online poker room in Rhode Island. The state quickly overtook New Jersey in online poker revenue due to its larger population.

The best bet for iGaming legislation in 2026 might be to tie it to a ban on some of these other gambling alternatives. It’s up for debate how effective regulated markets are at curbing the worst aspects of unregulated gambling. Even when it comes to the rigged sports bets, the FBI made it clear that legal sportsbooks were the victims, not parties to the conspiracy.

USA Poker Legislation Federal and State Law

Coordination with commercial and tribal operators would be needed for any expansion on this. Live gambling is restricted to a few racinos, bingo halls, and a state lottery. Poker and other forms of iGaming have occasionally been the subject of legislative attempts to legalize. Given Hawaii’s historical opposition, legalization is extremely unlikely in the near future. Lawmakers consistently cite social and economic concerns about introducing gambling. Occasional proposals, such as House Bill 2422, have sought to establish a gaming commission, but have failed.

The bill would allow the state’s casinos and their online partners to apply for licenses and would tax the industry at 15% of gross gaming revenue. Maryland and Virginia have both seen online gaming bills filed and other stats are considering casino expansion and adding sports betting. Senate Bill 1464, a bipartisan bill sponsored by Republican Rep. Tony Scott, would allow Gov. Ned Lamont “to enter into agreements for the purpose of authorizing online gaming operators to conduct multijurisdictional Internet gaming for peer-to-peer casino games.” Collectively known as the Wabanaki Nations, these tribes have been granted exclusive rights to operate online poker and casino gaming in the state. Under SB S2614, all nine sports betting operators already in the state would be allowed to offer online gaming. Those in the industry believe the Empire State could be the largest online gaming market in the country, potentially adding population of 19.6 million to the country’s online poker shared liquidity agreement.

In January, PokerNews spoke with New York State Senator Joseph Addabbo Jr. about his efforts to bring online poker to the state’s 20 million residents. “First, FanDuel is supportive of the provision authorizing the Governor to enter into agreements with other states for multi-jurisdictional Internet games such as poker,” Ventre told Connecticut lawmakers on Wednesday. While a firm launch date has not been set, industry experts anticipate that the first legal poker hands could be dealt later in 2026 or early 2027. In any case, players must still wait for regulation to be drafted, with the Maine Gambling Control Unit responsible for drafting the specific rules and licensing requirements. Other states with bills put forward for online gaming and poker so far this year include Massachusetts, Indiana, and Wyoming. There are 34 New York casinos overall, 21 tribal and 13 commercial, which employed nearly 70,000 as of 2023 and brought in $4.72 billion in gross gaming revenue.

Legislators in Delaware weren’t going to get left in the dust regarding online poker regulation. Revenue numbers and statistics are not available for much of Nevada’s online poker history because regulations stipulate that there are not enough sites to warrant the distribution of that information. Ultimate gaming was the first company to launch online poker for residents of Nevada in April 2013 via a partnership with Station Casinos. WV did sign the multi-state poker agreement in late 2023, though no online poker sites have yet come forth with the intention to launch there. They are the only state to decide to pass a law essentially forbidding any participation in any federal online gambling network.

“The negative ramifications for this industry are obvious, and they have high-powered lobbyists. And several casino operators are known supporters of the current Administration. I strongly suspect they will be working to reverse this.” The sports betting bill, SD 1657, would ban prop and in-play betting, bar ads during televised sporting events, and raise the tax rate to 51%. A new bill has been proposed to update the Massachusetts online casino industry.

While Georgia is one of the most conservative states with strict anti-gambling laws, residents should have no worries about playing poker online. As a conservative state with seemingly strict views on gambling in general, it’s no surprise that there’s some confusion as to the legality of online poker in Georgia. No Legal Online PokerState authorities don’t look too favorably on gambling or the game of poker in Arizona, and since there has been no effort to regulate the game at state level, it seems unlikely that any moves will be made to legislate for the online poker industry. However players in the state can access offshore poker sites, often www.pokernewsdaily.com using cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin to make transactions. No Legal Online PokerArkansas is quite a conservative state and there’s little chance that legislation for a local online poker industry will be discussed at state level any time soon.