DraftKings enters online poker market with Electric Poker launch in Michigan

DraftKings has made its debut in the online poker market with the launch of a real-money online poker app, Electric Poker. The game, which went live in Michigan on Tuesday, is the first proprietary online poker product developed by a major US-based gaming company in nearly a decade.

Electric Poker, now available in the DraftKings Casino lobby, offers a peer-to-peer variant for Michigan online poker players. Unlike traditional casino games, where players compete against the house, Electric Poker allows three players to compete in a fast-paced, no-limit Hold’em tournament.

The game follows the popular lottery sit-and-go format, where the prize pool is randomly determined at the start of each tournament. The prize pool can range from a 2x to a 10,000x multiplier on the buy-in amount.

The game is designed to be quick, with blinds increasing every two minutes until "Electric Mode" is triggered. At this point, players are forced all-in on every hand. The number of levels played before reaching Electric Mode depends on the prize multiplier, with higher multipliers extending the game slightly longer.

In most cases, the tournaments are winner-take-all, but the top three prize multipliers—100x, 1,000x, and 10,000x—provide payouts to all three participants. Additionally, the 5x and 10x multipliers also offer a prize for the runner-up.

The game’s arrival in Michigan could be a precursor to further expansion, with the potential for DraftKings to seek its own place in the online poker industry. Given that many of DraftKings’ existing casino and sportsbook users may be new to poker, savvy players might find opportunities to capitalize on less experienced competition at the tables.