West Virginia legalized online poker in March 2019, but more than six years later, West Virginians still don’t have a regulated site to play on.
Unlike other states where legality is the issue, operators just haven’t launched in West Virginia, presumably due to the state’s population. Many believed it was because the state wasn’t large enough to support an intrastate online poker market.
However, BetRivers might be filling that gap in the coming months. According to a report from Poker Industry Pro, Rush Street Interactive’s online poker platform will step in soon.
Discord Post Announced Expansion Plans
According to the report, BetRivers social media and content Manager Harry Corvese said the company plans to launch in Michigan, West Virginia and Delaware.
“I assure you, forever is not an accurate timeline for when we will be merging,” wrote Corvese. “While I can’t provide a locked-in date yet, it is coming very soon.”
Corvese also said that a New Jersey launch was in the plans and would “come later in the year.” He added that the company was working to meet gaming regulations in the Garden State, paving the way for a Garden State platform.
The BetRivers poker software has the same user interface as Phil Galfond’s now-defunct Run It Once Poker. Rush Street purchased Run It Once from the high-stakes pro in 2022. They launched in Pennsylvania in November 2024 and signed Phil Hellmuth as a brand ambassador earlier this year.
The move to expand comes after Pennsylvania officially joined the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement in April. West Virginia joined the MSIGA in 2023. In other words, if all goes to plan, BetRivers could share liquidity between West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Delaware.
WSOP Online is the only operator with a four-state liquidity pool, having access to Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Michigan and Nevada.
Delaware hasn’t had a poker operator since 888 Holdings was replaced as the state’s sole online gaming operator by Rush Street in January 2024. But the current plans for BetRivers means Delaware could soon be playing online poker again soon.
