How many US states have legal online poker, and which ones might be next? As of October 2026, reporting from Bodog says nine states have authorized regulated online poker, and six have active sites. All six active states belong to the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA), the compact that lets participating states combine player pools. This scorecard walks through where things stand, who is waiting, and why the real battleground is liquidity, not legislation.
A note on sources: this piece draws mainly on Bodog's October 22 poker feature and CBS Sports' October 22 state-by-state overview of online casino legalization. The two use slightly different framing, and we point out where they diverge.
The big picture
Nine authorized, six live. The gap is Maine, which is legal but not live, plus any other authorized state that has not yet launched. Bodog notes that Pennsylvania joined MSIGA in April 2025, and that regulators estimated this raised the potential shared player pool by more than 50%. For how that merger works, see our MSIGA shared liquidity report and our overview of the compact growing to six states.
CBS Sports' article focuses on online casinos rather than poker specifically, and counts eight states with legal real-money online casinos, with an internal inconsistency in how it states the number of live markets. It lists Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and West Virginia as live, Nevada as poker-only, and Maine as legal but not launched. That tells us the poker map and the casino map overlap but are not identical: Connecticut and Rhode Island, for example, are described by CBS as online casino states.
Live markets
Rather than assert the nine-state list ourselves, we point to what the reporting establishes. CBS lists these as having legal online gambling in some form: Delaware (three racetrack casinos with Rush Street Interactive as the lottery's vendor), Michigan (15 legal operators), New Jersey (more than two dozen online casinos), Pennsylvania (more than 20 licensed operators), West Virginia (at least 10 online casinos) and Nevada (online poker only, not slots or table games). Online poker's specific footprint is narrower than casino.
The practical point for players is that the poker market is concentrated in a handful of states and brands, which we compare in our PokerStars on FanDuel vs WSOP report.
Maine: legal, not live
Maine is the most interesting case. It legalized in January 2026 but has not launched. According to Bodog, it has not joined MSIGA, so its market would be ring-fenced. The law gives the state's four Wabanaki Nations opportunities to offer licensed internet gaming. CBS adds that four iCasinos are planned, with each of the four federally recognized tribes partnering with one operator, DraftKings and Caesars being candidates, and launch expected in late 2026 or 2027.
A ring-fenced Maine market would face the same challenge as Alberta: a small population and no pooling. We examine Alberta's version in our Alberta liquidity report and Maine's timeline in our Maine launch coverage.
Virginia: the closest candidate, with conflicting timelines
Virginia is where the two sources diverge. Bodog says Senate Bill 118 and House Bill 161 would have authorized online casino gaming, including poker, and both passed in different forms, but the bill failed in 2026. Bodog calls Virginia perhaps the strongest candidate for 2027.
CBS says two iGaming bills stalled in 2026 and, because both carry a reenactment clause, launch would be 2028 at the earliest. Those are different timelines for the same underlying problem. The honest summary is that legislation passed in some form but did not become law, and the earliest realistic launch is disputed between 2027 enactment and 2028 launch. Those could both be true, since enactment and launch are different milestones. Our Virginia 2027 timeline and delay analysis cover the details.
New York and Illinois: big prizes, slow progress
New York has nearly 20 million residents, according to Bodog. Assembly Bill A6030 would authorize Texas Hold'em and Omaha but remains in committee. CBS says efforts, including one in early 2025, have not gained momentum.
Illinois has HB4802, which addresses online poker, and HB4797, which proposes a broader Internet Gaming Act. Neither has advanced far, per Bodog.
These are the states that could change the arithmetic if they pass and join MSIGA. They are also the states where passage has been slow. Our outlook for 2026-2027 discusses the odds.
Other states in CBS's list
CBS also notes:
- Maryland: Senate Bill 885 got a committee hearing in 2026 but failed to advance.
- Massachusetts: HB 4431 was tabled for study in 2026.
- Hawaii: HB 2222 would create an iCasino framework but is considered a long shot, as Hawaii permits no gambling of any kind.
- New Hampshire: a 2025 bill failed.
- Ohio: the governor opposed online casinos in 2025.
- Texas: 2027 is the earliest opportunity, since the legislature meets only in odd years.
- Wisconsin: the governor signed an online sports betting bill on April 9, 2026, but online casinos and poker remain illegal.
These are casino-focused notes; poker is often bundled with them in iGaming bills but not always. Texas's live poker scene, meanwhile, is dealing with its own legal questions, as we saw in our report on the Katy club raid.
Why liquidity is the real story
Bodog's author makes the sharpest point of the article: the future of regulated online poker depends more on how many players can compete against each other than on how many jurisdictions legalize it. A new state that joins MSIGA adds to a shared pool. A new state that stands alone creates a small market that may struggle to support tournaments and high-stakes cash games.
Maine's decision not to join MSIGA, at least as reported, is therefore as important as its legalization. And New York's size makes its eventual choice potentially decisive. Ten new ring-fenced states would not equal one large pooled market.
The sports betting and prediction market overlay
Poker legalization does not happen in isolation. States are also dealing with prediction markets, as New Jersey's Supreme Court petition and Utah's lawsuit show. Our reports on the Third vs Ninth Circuit split and on New Jersey's binding responsible gaming rules show how regulators are tightening oversight. A state that is busy defending its gambling laws against federally registered event contracts has less appetite for expanding into new gambling categories, though that is our inference and not something the reporting states.
What this means for players
- If you live in a live state, you have licensed options and protections. Compare them on our US poker page.
- If you live in a pending state, such as Maine or Virginia, do not expect a launch this year. Watch legislative calendars.
- If you live in a state with no regulated poker, offshore options exist but carry different risks. Our real money poker and safe poker sites guides explain how to evaluate them, and our crypto poker guide covers another route.
- Check the legal status where you live before depositing. This article is not legal advice.
What to watch next
- Maine's launch and its MSIGA decision.
- The next legislative sessions in Virginia, New York and Illinois.
- Texas in 2027, when its legislature next meets.
- Supreme Court action on the Kalshi petition, which may shape state appetite for gambling expansion.
Bottom line
US online poker is a nine-state authorization story and a six-state live reality, with a compact that has proven it can grow. The next chapter depends less on how many legislatures say yes and more on whether new markets plug into shared pools. Until New York, Virginia or Illinois changes the picture, the map will look much as it does today.