West Virginia enters into an agreement regarding online poker in the US.

West Virginia is one of the American states that has legalized online poker. Since 2019, the state's Lottery Commission has approved the practice of the mind sport for real money at virtual tables. However, until now, there has been no online poker offering in the region. Now, a new development rekindles hope among the public.

The absence of online poker sites in West Virginia is because the state's market is considered too small, and operators deem it not worthwhile to open exclusive competitions there. In the US, states that allow online poker have closed markets, meaning players only play against players from the same state, as is the case in Pennsylvania, for example.

However, in the US there is the MSIGA, an acronym for Multi-State Online Gaming Agreement. This is simply a partnership between states to divide player pools and share profits. States like Delaware, Michigan, Nevada, and New Jersey are part of this agreement. WSOP.com tournaments, for example, place competitors from Nevada and New Jersey in the same field.

And this November, the state of West Virginia became the newest member of MSIGA. With this, any online poker tournaments available in the region can now be grouped with markets from other locations, possibly more attractive to the sites, and some where the houses are already operating. With this new scenario, the major operators have begun to look favorably upon West Virginia.

To organize an operational process in the state, West Virginia public agencies began requesting, after joining MSIGA, a letter with a formal request from each site to obtain regulatory approval and begin operating in the region. According to the PokerFuse website, PokerStars, WSOP.com, BetMGM, and Run It Once stand out as favorites to enter the state.

Theoretically, BetMGM would have an advantage in this negotiation, as it already has roots in the state. The company that manages the site also owns a casino in West Virginia, meaning it has already gone through a regulatory process with the region's Lottery Commission.

West Virginia has only the 39th largest population of the 50 American states, with approximately 1,7 million inhabitants. This number is similar to the populations of the desert state of Idaho, or even the Hawaiian archipelago in the Pacific Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Charleston, but it has no more than 50 inhabitants. The state's terrain is characterized by mountain ranges and beautiful natural landscapes, earning it the nickname "The Mountain State."

All these characteristics help explain the lack of interest from online poker sites in the region, even with authorization to operate there. Now, with players able to participate in competitions involving other states, the scenario is changing. It's another step for online poker towards normality in the territory of the country where the mind sport was born. ( SuperPoker )