PokerStars prepares to merge Michigan and New Jersey liquidity

PokerStars has put its operations in Michigan and New Jersey on a temporary hold with the brand’s services in the two states unavailable on December 12 and 13 (today). This is a move that the company is taking ahead of an anticipated "merge" of liquidity for poker players between the two states, which will boost the overall number of games and prize money in the regulated online poker market in the United States, which is still competing against offshore operations.

The maintenance has impacted all services provided by PokerStars in the two states, with the sports, poker, and casino products unavailable all through today. However, this momentary discomfort is a precursor to the two states merging under the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA) which will translate into better liquidity and opportunities for players. Pennsylvania, which is not yet part of MSIGA will not be impacted by the maintenance, the official announcement by the company detailed.

The servers should be back online on Wednesday, December 14, but there is no official confirmation yet. It’s unlikely for the merger of liquidity to occur during the maintenance period, with PokerStars most likely willing to continue testing for a while but set the wheels in motion so that an official merging can occur before long.

Lack of liquidity has been one of the main gripes that online poker players have shared when playing at regulated gambling websites in the United States. Because of the fairly low number of players, and revenue generated through poker, a substantial number of players are turning to offshore gambling operations, although no reliable data is available to gauge what the impact of the offshore market is.

Meanwhile, the United States maintains a vibrant land-based poker industry, but more effort is now being put into bringing online operations up to scratch as well. PokerStars' decision to move forward with MSIGA and build bigger regulated poker communities online will definitely put other brands on notice.

Presently, WSOP and BetMGM both offer online poker, but they have not explored shared-liquidity options, which could now change depending on how successful PokerStars’ rollout will be. More information will be forthcoming.

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