DraftKings now offers a combined poker player pool in three states after receiving approval from Michigan regulators.
The Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) authorized DraftKings to begin pooling players in its state with those of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. DraftKings already allowed poker players in those latter two stages to play against each other, and Pennsylvania was added to the mix on July 8.
DraftKings operates its online casino platform in Michigan through a partnership with the Bay Mills Indian Community, which owns and runs a brick-and-mortar casino in the state. The tribal operator also serves as the gaming giant’s partner for its poker offering.
The MGCB said in a press release on Monday that it found that DraftKings meets all regulatory requirements to conduct multi-state internet poker in Michigan after a thorough regulatory review.
“This approval reflects the strength of our partnership with Bay Mills Indian Community and the thoroughness of our regulatory process,” said MGCB Executive Director Henry Williams. “As Michigan’s multistate poker network continues to grow, we remain focused on ensuring every operator meets the same high bar for fairness, security, and player protection.”
Michigan joined the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA) in 2022. It is one of six member states of that agreement, alongside:
- Delaware
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- Pennsylvania
- West Virginia
Due to Delaware’s monopoly model with Rush Street Interactive’s BetRivers, DraftKings does not operate sports betting or any kind of online casino gaming in that state. Nor is it active as an operator in Nevada, and last year vowed not to pursue any state licenses there in light of the state’s hardline stance on prediction markets, which DraftKings now offers in various forms across the U.S. It is a licensed sports betting and iGaming operator in West Virginia but does not offer poker there.
Stiff competition in US poker market
While DraftKings now offers pooled-liquidity peer-to-peer poker in three states, it faces strong competition in the market from other operators, some of which have larger networks.
DraftKings’ chief sports betting and casino rival, FanDuel, recently joined forces with fellow Flutter-owned brand PokerStars. PokerStars already offered a poker pool in Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, and since April 1 it has done so as part of the FanDuel network. The MGCB approved PokerStars on FanDuel in March.
BetMGM Poker also offers a shared player pool in those three states. However, none of those three leading brands are the biggest poker operator in the U.S. by number of states.
BetRivers and NSUS-owned WSOP Online each offer a four-state network. BetRivers connects players in Delaware, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, while WSOP Online’s pool spans New Jersey, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Nevada.
BetRivers said last this year that it intends to expand to five states with the addition of New Jersey.
