The inclusion of Michigan into the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement gives the eight-year-old organization a vibrant online gaming market that generated more than $1.1 billion in 2021 during its first year of operation.

But Michigan’s involvement won’t mean much for Nevada, a founding partner in the four-state pact. Nevada legalized internet poker in 2013, but there is just one active site operated by Caesars Entertainment and based on the World Series of Poker.

Full-scale online gaming in Nevada has been long opposed by certain casino operators – primarily Red Rock Resorts – over concerns of losing business from their traditional neighborhood gaming operations.

Nevada and Delaware, two of the nation’s smallest states in terms of population, formed the multi-state agreement in 2014 when other states were in the early stages of exploring and potentially legalizing online gaming.

New Jersey joined in 2017, four years after the state legalized full online gaming.

The agreement, where players from multiple states could gamble in games online across state lines, was viewed as a way to increase participation – often referred to as “liquidity” – especially for games such as poker.

Rebecca Satterfield, who serves as the multi-state organization’s manager and oversees the Delaware Lottery’s internet gaming division, announced Michigan’s entry last week.