Pennsylvania Online Poker Laws
Online poker has been legal in Pennsylvania since it became the fourth state to pass legalization in 2017.
Gambling first became legalized in Pennsylvania in 1971 following the establishment of the Pennsylvania State Lottery. It remained as the only legal gambling option in the state until 2004 when the Pennsylvania government passed Act 71 to establish the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board and legalize casinos and racetracks in the state.
Since the passing of Act 71 gambling has expanded rapidly throughout the state. Casino licenses are divided into four categories, horse racetrack casinos, stand-alone casinos, resort casinos and satellite casinos.
Is Online Poker Legal in Pennsylvania?
Yes. On October 30, 2017 Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed legislation that legalized online gambling in the state. At the time it was the fourth state to legalized online gambling, joining Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware. Following the legalization, the first online casino sites were launched in 2019.
The launch of online poker in the state took longer with the first site not launching until November, 2019. The first site launched in the state was PokerStars PA, under a partnership with Mount Airy Casino.
Currently, PokerStars remains as the only site to go online in Pennsylvania. Other casinos in Pennsylvania have signed partnership agreements to launch online poker site with different operators but none have gone live, nor have they announced dates for future launch.
Under Pennsylvania law, online poker can legally be played by anyone in the state that is 21 years of age or older. To play they must reside within the Pennsylvania state borders. Unlike some of the other states that have legalized online poker Pennsylvania currently does not have any interstate compacts with others states to share player liquidity.
The ability to sign on to interstate compact does exist under Pennsylvania’s online gambling legislation so this may change in the future.
Are Other Forms of Gambling Legal in Pennsylvania?
Yes. Many forms of live and online gambling are legal in Pennsylvania. These include casino gambling, tables games, slots and poker, lottery, betting on horse racing, bingo and charitable gambling. However the charitable gambling laws do not include poker. Sports betting was legalized in Pennsylvania in 2017 along with daily fantasy sports.
Pennsylvania unlike many other states does not have a law on the books to legalize social gambling. That means there is no law in Pennsylvania that makes it legal to host a poker game in your basement. However, despite there being no laws allowing social gambling, authorities in the states aren’t rounding up and arresting people hosting poker games as long as they aren’t operating the game for a profit.
Pennsylvania Laws Relevant to Online Poker
On October 30, 2017 Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed HB 271 into law which legalized online gambling in the state. Under the new law online casino games, online poker and online sports betting became legal.
To operate legally in Pennsylvania online gambling sites need to be license. The 12 land-based casinos in the state were offered the initial batch of licenses. Companies looking to enter the Pennsylvania market had to partner with a local casino to be licensed.
The first online poker partnership was between Mount Airy Casino and PokerStars. They became the first legal online poker site to launch in Pennsylvania in November, 2019. Other online poker partnerships that have been announced in Pennsylvania include Valley Forge Casino Resort with PartyPoker, and Caesars with 888poker and WSOP.com.
None of the other online poker sites have launched in Pennsylvania yet and launch dates for the sites have not been announced.
