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30, 2017, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf signed into law a gambling expansion package that legalized and regulated online casino games, plus daily fantasy sports and sports betting. The first three online casinos in Pennsylvania launched on July 15, 2019, and five more are expected before the end of the year. PA Online Casino News for January 2020. The new year is underway and it should be a big one for the PA online gambling industry. The state begins 2020 with eight online sportsbooks, including the recently launched BetAmerica Sportsbook. The online casino industry keeps growing. Big Moves: Parx to Launch Live Dealer Games, New Online Titles in PA Parx will soon become the first PA online casino to roll out long-awaited live dealer table games, along with exclusive slots and games from Everi Holdings.
- Pennsylvania is the fourth state in the United States to legalize online Gambling
- Online Gambling in PA is regulated by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB), a public body created in 2004
- The overall PA Casino Gaming Revenue hit an all-time high in 20181
In 2019, the state of Pennsylvania (PA) became the fourth in the United States to legalize online Casinos and online Poker games and to offer legal Internet gambling games to US players.
On this page, you find everything there is to know about online Casinos in Pennsylvania.
From the operators who obtained the license to offer real-money gambling in PA to the companies that run their software and those who operate brick-and-mortar Casinos - everything is right here.
Do keep in mind that the process of establishing a proper legalised online gambling market in PA has just started.
Most gambling operators have yet to launch their PA online Casino platforms or to apply for a Pennsylvania online gambling license.
We update this page weekly to give you all the latest online gambling news and information about online Casinos in Pennsylvania.
Whether you are looking to play the first real money online Casino games in PA or you are simply interested in industry news about the development of the fourth legalised gambling market within the US, bookmark this page to make sure you don't miss any of the latest updates.
PA Online Casinos: 2019 List
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Play NowAs of February 2019, at least seven online Casinos said to be ready to launch real-money gambling games in Pennsylvania within the second quarter of the year.
In the table below, you find all details about the projected launch dates for all the PA online Casinos that are expected to go live before June 2019 and offer casino and poker games to Pennsylvania residents and more.
PA Casino Site | Online Partner | Launch Dates | PGCB Application |
---|---|---|---|
Harrahs Philadelphia | 888 | Mid-2019 | Approved |
Hollywood Casino (Penn National) | IGT | Mid-2019 | Approved |
Mount Airy | 888, PokerStars | Mid-2019 | Approved |
Parx Casino | GAN | Mid-2019 | Approved |
Sugarhouse Casino | Rush Interactive, Kambi | Mid-2019 | Approved |
Valley Forge | IGT, GAN | Mid-2019 | Approved |
Presque Isle Downs | Golden Nugget | Mid-2019 | Approved |
In addition to the seven operators above, there's also a number of other online Casinos that have secured a conditional approval by the PGCB to operate in the upcoming PA regulated online gambling market. These are:
PA Casino | Online Partner | Launch | PGCB Application |
---|---|---|---|
Sands Bethlehem | Unknown | Unknown | Approved |
Stadium Park Philly Live! Casino | GAN | Unknown | Approved |
Mohegan Sun Pocono | Kindred (Unibet) | Unknown | Approved |
MGM Resorts | bwin.party | Unknown | Approved |
Golden Nugget NJ | NYX | Unknown | Approved |
What Games are Legal on PA Online Gambling Sites?
Before you open your first account to play at online gambling sites in PA, let's have a look at what is going to be available to Pennsylvania residents.
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Play NowIn October 2017, the PA Senate approved a bill (H 271) that opened the state's doors to games that used to be legal before the post-UIGEA nation-wide gambling shutdown.
Once PA Governor Tom Wolf signed the bill into law, online Poker, online Casino games, sports betting, and Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) became (theoretically) possible in Pennsylvania.
Further discussions and clarifications about the taxes on online Casino winnings in PA and the games that will really be allowed on PA Casino platforms generated this list of the gambling games that are officially allowed in Pennsylvania.
- Online Table Games
- Online Slots Games
- Online Poker
- Sports Betting
- Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS)
- Video Gaming Terminals
- Tablet Gaming (but only within specific authorised areas)
How the PA Gambling Licensing System Works
As it's often the case when it comes to online gambling, the legislator created a strict and rigorous system to issue licenses to operate in PA and offer gambling games to PA players.
Following the approval of the H 271 bill, there are now three distinct gambling licenses in the state of Pennsylvania.
Each license needs a separate application and allows operators to offer different games. The three PA gambling licenses cover the following areas:
- Online Slots games
- Online Poker (and other P2P online games)
- House-banked games
The three PA gambling licenses have to be purchased separately for $4m each.
The PGCB, however, allowed PA Casino operators to purchase a bundle that includes all three licenses for a fixed fee of $10 million.
Note: This offer is no longer available as it was limited to the first 90 after the licensing process opened.
Out of the 13 Casinos that met the requirements set to apply for a PA gaming license, the following eight ponied up $10m each to secure all three licenses:
- Parx
- Stadium Casino
- Mount Airy
- Sands Bethlehem
- Hollywood Casino
- Valley Forge
- Harrah’s Philadelphia
- Sugarhouse Casino
The Presque Isle and the Mohegan Sun Pocono decided to enter the market securing only a license for Slots and table games.
All the licenses / permits to offer real-money gambling games in PA are valid for five years.
Who Will Offer Online Gambling in Pennsylvania?
Applicants for a license to launch a PA online Casino or to offer online Poker games in Pennsylvania need to be already land-based Casino licensees.
As some of the brick-and-mortar operators currently in PA decided not to enter the PA online gambling market, the PGCB chose to allow some 'Qualified Gaming Entities' to enter the application process.
As it happened during the online gambling expansion in New Jersey, many international online operators decided to ink partnership deals with PA Casinos to operate the online side of their business.
Read also: PokerStars Reaches an Agreement with Mount Airy Casino Resort to Enter PA Gambling Market
How Many PA Online Casinos There Will Be in 2019?
Despite the cap set by the PGCB on the number of licenses to offer online Gambling games in Pennsylvania, the number of PA online Casinos that will be live in 2019 remains unclear.
Right now, there are 39 licenses up for grabs. The licenses are split as follows.
- 13 licenses to offer Casino table games
- 13 licenses to offer online Slots
- 13 licenses to offer online Poker games
What is unclear, however, is how many sites the license holders will operate.
Following the NJ experience, it's reasonable to expect most license holders to launch more than one single website - resulting in a number of PA online Casino far larger than the number of licenses available today.
Who Can Play on PA Casinos?
Online Casino Pennsylvania
Like it happened in New Jersey, any individual who is at least 21yo can play on PA Casinos.
Online gambling in Pennsylvania is not limited to PA citizens.
Anyone in Pennsylvania will be able to play real money games on licensed PA online Casino sites.
Will PA Be a Ring-Fenced Market or Will It Share Liquidity with Others?
As of February 2019, we are waiting to receive more information about this point.
However, many believe that PA will share liquidity with the states of New Jersey, Nevada, and Delaware (to be confirmed).
PA Online Casino Bonus Offers
As we wait for the first gambling options to become available to Pennsylvania residents and other individuals in the state, we also wait to know what type of bonuses PA online gambling sites will offer at the launch.
Looking at what happened when Casino and Poker landed on NJ online Casino gambling sites, we tend to think that most of PA online gambling sites will publish promo codes to claim no deposit bonuses for video poker, Slot machine and live dealer games.
NJ Online Casino sites made a significant use of no deposit Casino bonus offers and promo codes to sign up players - oftentimes connecting online bonuses to other perks that could be collected at their brick-and-mortar establishments.
Once the legal online gambling market will start to peak up in PA, we expect to see a significant number of promotions that will combine playing at Pennsylvania online casinos and at land-based ones.
To make sure you don't miss any of the upcoming PA Casino bonus codes, follow all the related gambling news here on PokerNews.com.
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Two (or Three) Pennsylvania Online Casinos Prepared for Monday Launch
Online poker players in Pennsylvania have been eyeing next Monday on the calendar since the spring when the state's regulators announced that the 'live period for interactive gaming will commence on July 15, 2019.'
More specifically, it was mid-April when Kevin O'Toole, executive director of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board revealed the 10 iGaming certificate holders and three iGaming operators in the state of the July 15 commencement date when online games could go live. That news came about a year-and-a-half after the state's passage of legislation to expand gambling in the state, including online.
So.. Monday is almost here. Who is ready to launch their online casino?
Penn Bets reports that 'two, possibly three casinos' are expected to launch on Monday. According to Doug Harbach of the PGCB, Parx Casino is ready for at least a soft launch of its online casinos on Monday, with Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course 'also working toward being ready.'
Additionally, 'a third could be ready, but that decision would occur just before the 15th,' Harbach explained. Penn Bets speculates that Rush Street Gaming, operator of the SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia and Rivers Casino Pittsburgh could also be set to go on Monday. Both of those casinos already have had online sports betting up and running — SugarHouse since late May, Parx since late June.
The soft launch would entail sites being open for game play for limited hours in order to control traffic and be able to test payment mechanisms, geolocation, and other legally required measures.
While the new online casinos are expected to offer both slots and various table games, it's unclear at present whether online poker will be available right away.
Pokerfusehas reported that PokerStars 'is likely to launch its online poker room' in Pennsylvania on Monday, although there have been no other indications from those involved that such will occur. PokerStars' parent company The Stars Group partnered with the Mount Airy Casino in Pocono last year.
More than eight years after Black Friday, legal and regulated online poker is currently being played in just three U.S. states — Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware.
A good resource to follow the online gambling-related goings-on in the Keystone State is Play Pennsylvania, in particular their constantly updated launch date page tracking online casinos and sportsbooks in the state.
Eldorado Sells Two More Properties Following Caesars Merger
There's more follow-up to share regarding the big industry story of the summer (so far) — that is, last month's deal between Eldorado Resorts Inc. and Caesars Entertainment Corp. that saw Eldorado acquire and merge with Caesars in a cash-and-stock agreement worth $17.3 billion (plus debt).
Not unexpectedly, Eldorado announced yesterday an intention to sell a couple of properties, likely the first of several such moves designed to free up cash to help pay off both its own debt and what it is taking on from Caesars.
Las Vegas Review-Journal reports Eldorado has agreed to sell both the Isle of Capri Casino in Kansas City, Missouri and the Lady Luck Casino in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Twin River Worldwide Holdings Inc. of Rhode Island is the buyer with the price tag $230 million in cash. The sale is expected to close in early 2020.
Eldorado had already unloaded three smaller casinos in June just prior to the merger announcement, selling the Isle Casino Cape Girardeau (in Missouri), the Lady Luck Casino Caruthersville (also in Missouri), and Mountaineer Casino Racetrack and Resort (in West Virginia) to Century Casinos Inc. for a total of $385 million.
Even after the new sale, the newly-merged company which will be called Caesars still has around 60 different assets altogether, including nine Las Vegas Strip properties.
Speculation continues about which of those properties might become available for sale. Regarding other areas, LVRJ refers to analyst Brad Boyer saying he expects further sales, such as in Louisiana where Eldorado and Caesars currently own three properties each.
North Carolina Lawmakers Advance Sports Betting Bill
Finally, there are a couple of stories involving gambling legislation currently developing in North Carolina to pass along.
First, a sports betting bill previously passed by the state Senate made it through a House committee this week, meaning it could soon be voted upon by that chamber and sent onward to Governor Roy Cooper for his signature.
As The News & Observer reports, the current bill would only allow betting on sports and horse racing at the two Eastern Band of Cherokee casinos located in the westermost part of the state. As Representative Kevin Corbin explained, the bill would not 'legalize sports betting and gambling in North Carolina,' but only would 'add this to the list of games that are allowed' already in the state's only casinos.
Back in April, the state Senate passed the sports betting bill by a vote of 43-7.
Meanwhile yesterday another bill was passed by the entire House that allows the creation of a consolidated state commission to oversee all gambling-related activities in the state. The new nine-member North Carolina Gaming Commission would also take over duties currently belonging to the state's lottery commission.
According to the Associated Press, the bill which passed the House by a 86-26 margin had earlier contained a provision formally legalizing daily fantasy sports, but that language was dropped. Remaining in the bill, however, is another item requiring the new commission to study the pros and cons of authorizing betting on sports and steeplechases.
In May lawmakers in NC passed a different 'charity casino' bill allowing charities in the state to host 'game nights' with casino games and alcohol. In that case, only charity casinos in close proximity to the two Cherokee casinos are excluded from being able to offer the games.
The Stars Group owns a majority shareholding in iBus Media.
Photo: 'Pa. Welcome Sign, McKean County' (adapted), CC0.
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IndustryPennsylvaniaonline gamblingonline pokerParx CasinoPenn NationalRush Street GamingSugarhouse CasinoRivers Casino PittsburghPokerStarsEldorado Resorts Inc.CaesarsCaesars Entertainment Corp.MissouriMississippiNorth CarolinaLouisiana