Earlier this week, a rumor circulated on social media that PokerStars could go live with online poker in Pennsylvania this week.

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Professional poker player Michael “Gags30” Gagliano tweeted about the rumor that PokerStars would be live for beta testing on Aug. 27 and go fully live on Aug. 30.

PA online poker, casinos. Ten of the 13 Pennsylvania casinos secured permits to offer table games and slot machines online, and seven of those will also spread poker. The golden ticket for all three could initially be purchased for a discounted $10 million. Some of the biggest brands in online poker have a path into Pennsylvania. Dec 04, 2020 The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board approved all PA casinos that applied for licenses with online sportsbooks betting going live in early 2019, followed by casinos in the summer of 2019 and the launch of PokerStars in November 2019, the first online poker room in the state.

Pennsylvania becomes the second state to which PokerStars has returned after having launched in New Jersey in early 2016. Players in the Keystone State can play real money online poker on the PokerStars site, as well as games in the PokerStars Casino and on the new FOX Bet app that went live in September.

@SteveRuddock@DustinGouker@OPRupdate@PlayPANews hearing rumors that pokerstars is gonna go live in PA for beta Aug 27th and go live the 30th. Any truth to this?

— Gags30 (@Gags30poker) August 19, 2019

PGCB confirms no testing yet

Sadly, Play Pennsylvania has officially received word that there is no testing for this week.

A Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) spokesperson Doug Harbach stated:

The PGCB does not have any testing scheduled for this week. Mount Airy and PokerStars are working toward launching sports wagers and online products (slots, tables, poker). However, at this point, I do not know if they will be testing all of their different products at the same time or at different times.

All things considered, PokerStars is widely expected to be the first operator to launch online poker in the Keystone State. PokerStars partnered with Mount Airy Casino to gain approval for online poker.

Harbach also stated in a previous interview with Play Pennsylvania that “I would expect the Mount Airy retail and online sportsbook to be one of the next ones up and running.”

Why the online poker lag?

Certainly, Pennsylvania poker players are champing at the bit for online poker to launch.

Disappointingly, poker is not a priority for multiple reasons. Unfortunately, the Keystone State did not learn from New Jersey’s multiple issues with launching its online poker industry. Also, New Jersey’s online poker profitspale in comparison to its sports betting.

For example, in July 2019, online sports betting revenue was $13.9 million and online poker revenue was $1.9 million. To emphasize, NJ online poker revenue since launch only makes up about 1/10th of total online gambling revenue.

In addition, it could be that PokerStars PA is still testing its software to ensure a seamless launch. In general, peer-to-peer games have many more moving parts to test than online casino and sports betting apps.

Additionally, the PGCB is likely biding time in order to ensure online operators are fully compliant before online poker launches.

Right now, there is not a question of “if” online poker launches in PA, but rather “when” will online poker launch.

When Does Online Poker Start In Pa State

After months of waiting, online poker has finally arrived in Pennsylvania by way of PokerStars.

Though it’s technically still in the testing phase, the arrival brings a renewed excitement and energy for gamblers in the Keystone State.

In addition to online poker, PA residents can welcome the arrival of the new DraftKings sports betting app, which made its debut on Monday as well.

What we know about Pennsylvania online poker, so far

On Nov. 4, Fox Bet announced the launch of PokerStars and PokerStars Casino, making the company the first operator to go live in the state.

“We’re excited to launch PokerStars as the first and currently the only online poker option available to players in Pennsylvania,” said Matt Primeaux, president of Fox Bet. “Including today’s launch of our highly rated casino product, which is now available in the Fox Bet and PokerStars apps, we’re proud to say we’re currently the only online provider offering all three forms of regulated gaming in the Commonwealth.”

Pennsylvania online poker was speculated to arrive in early September, but delays and extensive testing slowed initial implementation.

Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB)spokesperson Douglas Harbach announced last week, Mount Airy Casino would be testing a “casino-type game,” and it appears that game is online poker.

Here is Harbach’s full statement:

“We have staff prepared to initiate and oversee a test launch this Monday of another online casino gaming site, this one licensed under Mount Airy Casino and their suite of casino-type games. At this juncture, it would include the testing of a poker game. The caveat is always that if issues come up, then the beginning of the testing could slide.”

For now, this can be considered a soft launch, supervised by the PGCB. Testing hours are Monday 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Tuesday 2 p.m. to midnight.

Should everything go smoothly, the PGCB is expected to approve a full launch on Wednesday, Nov. 6.

Quick facts of PA online poker’s launch with PokerStars

With today’s launch comes a number of questions the staff here at Play USA will attempt to answer.

Here are a few basic answers regarding online poker:

• Must be 21 or older
• Physically located within the borders of PA
• No residency required (Social Security number is required for real money play)
• PokerStars NJ account not accepted (must create new PA account)
• Only low-stakes games and test tournaments are available for now.

Fox Bet CEO Robin Chhabra had this to say regarding what customers can expect in the months to come.

“We’ll be bringing some of our most popular games and tournaments enjoyed by players around the world and tailoring them for the Pennsylvania market. It’s a fresh start, so we’ll have a new tournament schedule designed specifically for the market and we’ll aim to be flexible with that in response to player demand. Anyone who has made the trip to play on PokerStars in New Jersey will see a lot of similarities — and some key differences — in our PA offering.”

PokerStars’ promotional options at launch

To celebrate the launch of PokerStars in Pennsylvania, players can enjoy some promotional option, including the following:

• Daily $1,000 welcome freerolls* from Nov. 7-16
• $20,000 welcome freeroll on Nov. 17
• First deposit bonus offer of $30 free play by using code FREE30
• 100% deposit bonus, up to $600

A few last details on DraftKings mobile betting app

The sports betting juggernaut becomes the sixth online sportsbook to launch in PA. This will be DraftKings’ fourth state as an app. It is already up and running in New Jersey, West Virginia and most recently, Indiana.

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In July, Penn National Gaming announced a 10-year partnership with DraftKings giving the sports betting operator access to Pennsylvania through Hollywood and Meadows casinos.

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DraftKings’ competition will most certainly be FanDuel, which launched in July and accounted for half of the $158.2 million in online handle generated in September.