Flutter Entertainment-owned PokerStars has become the first operator to allow online poker players in Michigan and New Jersey to play against each other.

Michigan signed a multi-state internet gaming compact last May to allow its online poker players to play with those in Delaware, Nevada and New Jersey.

PokerStars (trading as The Stars Group) is the first to share liquidity between Michigan and New Jersey players after securing approval from the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) on 20 December, with New Jersey’s Division of Gaming Enforcement following suit on 23 December.

“Michigan and New Jersey joining forces is great news for our players in these two states, and poker, more generally, as it promises a better experience and even more value, all with the confidence provided by a trusted, licensed operator,” said PokerStars US managing director Severin Rasset. “Our community will experience more breadth and depth of games, more tournaments with bigger prizes to win, amped-up promotions, and more choice.

“To kick start, we are offering generous guarantees on our debut multi-state tournaments, that will no doubt provide lots of value for those who take to the tables. We worked closely with the regulators of New Jersey and Michigan, and we hope that more will follow this great example.”

MGCB executive director Henry Williams commented: “Poker players in Michigan have anticipated eagerly the launch of multistate internet poker. I congratulate the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians and TSG PokerStars for being the first operator and provider granted permission to launch multistate internet poker in Michigan.

“A larger volume of players likely will result in more game options, more frequent games and larger tournament prizes.”

Currently, MGM Grand Detroit with BetMGM and the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians with the 888-powered World Series of Poker are also authorized online poker providers in Michigan, but they are not yet authorized for multi-jurisdictional play.

888 was the first operator to pool poker liquidity between players in New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware back in 2018.

Shares in Flutter Entertainment plc (LSE:FLTR) were trading 4.17 per cent higher at 11,760.71 pence per share in London earlier Tuesday.