Pennsylvania Sees First Legal Sports Bets

On Thursday, November 15, 2018, Penn National Gaming put its system to the test with punters at Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course. Therefore, Pennsylvania has officially become another US state in which a legal sports bet is processed.

The full implementation is expected to happen in the days. Meanwhile, a test phase occurred at the venue next to the Skybox Sports bar, which has been renovated recently. In the future, Pennsylvania could be a larger gambling market than Nevada…

…because according to Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, once the market enters its maturity stage, approximately $12bn could be wagered per year!

It is Official

Penn National confirmed that the processing of sports bets has started. In the meantime, staff will have enough time to learn about the new system with the test launch. Not to forget that they will also tackle with and solve issues reported with sportsbook releases in other states across the US in previous months.

Hollywood Casino general manager Dan Ihm said: “We are extremely appreciative for the tireless effort and of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. They moved heaven and earth to get us to this point and we couldn’t be more excited to be Pennsylvania’s first sportsbook.”

PGCB Approval Received

Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course and Parx Casino are the first two gambling institution that are allowed to launch sports wagering.

The approval came directly from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB). Before the end of the month and if everything goes as planned, Parx might even go live with its sportsbook!

More Applicants

This is just the beginning, though. Many others applied for the sports betting license including Harrah’s Philadelphia, Rivers Casino Pittsburgh, SugarHouse Casino and Valley Forge.

However, a sports betting feature doesn’t come cheap! Any casino that wants to have this benefit and offer it to the players is obliged to pay an initial license fee of $10m. Additionally, the tax rate on sports wagers is 36%.

A Selected Company

Pennsylvania is definitely not the final state which offers sports betting and more states are expected to “a selected company” sometime in the future. Before this northeastern commonwealth, states such as New Jersey, Nevada and Mississippi legalized sports betting.

The wave was triggered when the US Supreme Court repealed PASPA in May.

Penn National CEO Timothy Wilmott declared that they were “excited to be the first casino to offer sports wagering in Pennsylvania”.

He concluded: “The enthusiasm around sports betting has been growing since the federal ban was repealed in May, and we look forward to providing our patrons with another great amenity to enjoy at Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course.”

Meanwhile…

The PGCB is sorting out applications that are out of state for online gambling licenses in Pennsylvania. In September, a PGCB spokesperson mentioned that a “co-ordinated launch” could happen by the end of 2019 and the lucky ones will get the remaining licenses.

Last but not least, first online bets in Penn National are estimated for the first quarter of the following year.

Source:

“First legal bets placed in Pennsylvania”, igamingbusiness.com, November 16th 2018