Before now, Michigan poker providers, including PokerStars operated “ring-fenced” prize pools, essentially preventing inter-state competitions. However, with Michigan joining the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA), PokerStars launched an interstate liquidity pool between Michigan and New Jersey where it first went live back in 2016.
This strategic operation has sisnce yielded immense benefits for the poker brand as well as for the states involved in the shared pool. In the first month of the interstate shared liquidity, PokerStars claimed 40.3% of the online poker revenue in New Jersey, almost double its share in the previous month.
Similarly, in Michigan, overall cash game traffic generally went up by 18.7% year-over-year from 262 seats to 311 seats. PokerStars itself witnessed a 32% year-over-year increase in its traffic compared to November-December last year.
Not only is PokerStars now at the forefront of online poker sites in Michigan, but it has also placed Michigan ahead of other states in terms of poker traffic and revenue. For context, Michigan gained a 29% market share, with Pennsylvania coming a close second at 28.89%. The Great Lakes State has also generated over $1.5 billion in revenue throughout 2023.
Compared to PokerStars, BetMGM Poker MI saw a traffic decrease of 10% while WSOP.com Michigan witnessed a traffic decline of 4% in the same period. This has suggested that a reasonable number of players choose PokerStars MI above its direct competitors. Besides, given that overall poker traffic in Michigan increased, the gains of PokerStars was more than enough to cover for the losses of others.