The Pennsylvania online gambling landscape has gone through profound changes over the past year or so. In late 2017, the Keystone State passed a law that authorized and regulated online gambling. In order to properly handle this form of authorization, regulators and online gambling operators alike have invested a lot of joint effort into implementing the law.

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2. Legalizing Online Gambling

• Pennsylvania legalized gambling 5 years ago. Some reforms are now needed. Pennsylvania isn't going to hit the jackpot next year in property tax relief from our slots. Monday's announcement that.
• As of 2020, Nevada and Louisiana are the only two states in which casino-style gambling is legal statewide, with both state and local governments imposing licensing and zoning restrictions. All other states that allow casino-style gambling restrict it to small geographic areas (e.g., Atlantic City, New Jersey or Tunica, Mississippi ), or to.
• Is online poker legal in Pennsylvania? Tom Wolf signed bill H 271 into law on Oct. 30, 2017, online gambling became legal in Pennsylvania.This bill includes poker, casino table games, slots, and sports betting. That made Pennsylvania the fourth state to legalize online poker. Seven of the 13 casino license holders in Pennsylvania applied for licenses to operate online poker sites.

The OUSC team has done an in-depth research to bring you this comprehensive overview of the legal online gambling scene in the state of Pennsylvania. Keep reading to learn all the latest details and what to expect for the new year.

Pennsylvania Online Gambling Law: Key Takeaways

Pennsylvania is the most populous US state with legal, regulated online gambling in 2020. The omnibus expansion package Gov. Tom Wolf signed into law in 2017 authorized interactive gaming across multiple verticals — including lottery, casino, fantasy sports, sports betting, and poker.

There are a few key points of the actual legislature that are worth mentioning, providing just the right introduction to the current situation. Once House Bill 271 was signed by Governor Tom Wolf back in October 2017, online gambling became a legal practice across the state of Pennsylvania. Even though the law has been passed for over a year now, the Pennsylvania online gambling market is still maneuvering towards its official releases.

The first chance to cater to this massive player pool was given to the 13 existing land-based casino establishments, each eligible to receive a license to provide the following online gambling services.

• Fantasy Sports
• Mini-Casinos
• Sports Betting

The licenses are formally known as Interactive Gambling Certificates (IGCs) and are officially issued by the Pennsylvania Gambling Control Board (PGCB). As the first step towards building a formal online gambling platform, all 13 operators were given the initial chance to obtain a license in online slots, table casino games, and poker gameplay.

This resulted in a total of 39 eligible IGCs that existing operators could apply for, throughout the course of 120 days since their initial issuance. During the first 90 days, operators were given a special discount on the $4 million cost per license – $10 million for the full package.

Following the promotional period, all privileges were eliminated and room was made for offshore operators to set up online gambling sites for the Pennsylvania market, either by obtaining their own license or operating as a skin under an existing brand.

Pennsylvania Online Casinos: When Will They Launch?

As of now, there are no official launch dates for online casinos. Nonetheless, most of the online gambling and sports betting licenses have already been approved by the Pennsylvania Gaming Contol Board. With this in mind, it’s safe to say that casinos will most likely launch their online gaming format in the first quarter of 2019.

Take a look at the current status of each land-based casino, as well as their existing online partners and products offered.

Casino	Application Status	Projected Launch	Online Gaming Products	Online Partners
Parx Casino	Approved August 15th	Q1 2019	Online poker, table games, slots	GAN
Mount Airy	Approved August 15th	Q1 2019	Online poker, table games, slots	888/ Poker Stars
Stadium Casino	Approved October 31st	N/A	Online table games, slots	GAN
Sands Bethlehem	Approved October 3rd	N/A	Online poker, table games, slots	N/A
SugarHouse	Approved Mid-September	Q1 2019	Online poker, table games, slots	Rush Street Interactive / Kambi
Rivers Casino	Rescinded application October 4	N/A	N/A	SugarHouse/ Rush Street Interactive
Harrah’s Philadelphia	Approved August 15th	Q1 2019	Online poker, table games, slots	888 Casino
Valley Forge Casino	Approved October 3rd	Q1 2019	Online poker, table games, slots	IGT/GAN/PartyPoker
Hollywood Casino at Penn National	Approved Mid-September	Q1 2019	Online poker, table games, slots	IGT Casino Software
The Meadows Casino	Not Applied	N/A	N/A	N/A
Mohegan Sun Pocono	Approved November 28	N/A	Online table games, slots	N/A
Presque Isle Downs and Casino	Approved October 31st	Q1 2019	Online table games, online slots	Golden Nugget
Lady Luck Casino	Not Applied	N/A	N/A	N/A

In order to give a more comprehensive understanding of the Pennsylvania online gambling industry, it’s important to talk about each property and their licensing, as well as their sports betting application status.

The Harrah’s Philadelphia casino is known for their parent company Caesars Entertainment, which is the only to operate online gambling skins across Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware US online gambling markets. Their long-lasting partnership with 888 will probably see them power their poker room on the back of the same platform.

On the other hand, Scientific Games may be the partnering provider for casinos, should they approach the Pennsylvania market with both Caesars and Harrah’s brands. Additionally, a confirmation of their sports betting application on October 31st confirmed Scientific Games as the provider set to power the upcoming online sportsbook.

Since 2015, Mount Airy has an established partnership with 888 that has boosted the casinos’ stability and made it all the more competitive for the upcoming online gambling race. The casino has applied and gained license across all service formats and confirmed their association with The Stars Group shortly before obtaining their licenses.

TSG was officially licensed as their casino games software provider on November 28th. The pending entrance of Mount Airy into the sports betting market was additionally resolved through this move, as BetStars is now expected to make their official entrance in the marketplace.

The Parx Casino is definitely a leader in the existing land-based gambling sphere. Back in 2014, the casino entered a long-term partnership with the online software provider GAN, as a result of launching a play money social casino under the Parx casino brand. There are indications towards an additional partnership with another provider, Kambi, which has only recently received their license approval on November 28th.

Sports betting is also part of the casino’s future endeavors, planning to open two land-based operations as well as an online sportsbook.

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The Impact of Pennsylvania in US Online Gambling

The state of Pennsylvania is bound to benefit greatly from their legalization of online gambling practices. With about a twelve licenses still available, future projections and estimates should see the state benefiting from the license fees as a primary profit.

Ultimately, the license renewal requirements every few years should see the state achieve sustainability of all the additional bodies and employees necessary for proper handling of the matter. Online casinos and gambling operators, in general, should also benefit from a Pennsylvania online gambling sphere, attracting all potential players to their platforms.

With such positive projections and an evident advantage of an instant influx of money into the state budget, other states are bound to follow suit in due time. Even if the end of 2018 does not see the first online casino and poker action across Pennsylvania licensed platforms, the first quarter of 2019 is bound to provide a positive climate for legal online gambling in the US.

[toc]Pennsylvania could join Nevada with single-game sports betting, thanks to a law signed by Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday.

That bill authorized a myriad of new gaming options in the state, including online poker and casino games and regulation of daily fantasy sports. But it also sets up Pennsylvania to offer legal sports betting, should things break right in the near future.

The author of a standalone sports betting bill — Rep. Rob Matzie — offered this statement to ESPN’s David Purdum:

Statement from Pennsylvania Rep. @RobMatzie, who spearheaded the state's sports betting efforts: pic.twitter.com/JYsv5VtPzA

— David Payne Purdum (@DavidPurdum) October 30, 2017

Still, 2018 could be an optimistic timeframe for sports betting to happen in PA.

PA sports betting needs more than just the new law

Everything else PA just legalized on the gaming front needs nothing more to become law, from a purely legal standpoint. (Obviously, more goes into implementing the different aspects of the law, including licensing and writing of regulations.)

The same is not the case for the sports betting portion of the PA law, however. The law needs a change at the federal level to take effect. Currently, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) bans single-game wagering outside of Nevada.

That means a change to that law would need to come first. The quickest and most likely avenue to that is the New Jersey sports betting case in the US Supreme Court. A verdict declaring PASPA unconstitutional would allow PA to move forward right away.

Still, that decision is not likely until the spring of 2018, and that outcome is far from a given.

Here’s the language from the bill mentioning federal law:

The Board shall, when federal law is enacted or repealed or a federal court decision is filed that permits a state to regulate sports wagering, publish a notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin certifying the enactment or repeal or the filing of the decision.

Short of a SCOTUS decision in New Jersey’s favor, PA would need Congress to repeal or amend PASPA for the sports betting law to take effect.

Delaware passed a law in 2009 attempting to legalize single-game wagering, but that was struck down in court because of PASPA. Delaware still offers parlay wagering legally.

What’s in the PA sports betting law?

More about the nuts and bolts of the law here, including analysis of timing and other provisions.

The bill includes a 36-percent tax rate on sports wagering revenue, which is a ridiculously high number for what is a low-margin gaming product to start out with. Lawmakers would be smart to rein that number by changing the law in 2018, before it takes effect. (The licensing fee is also a steep $10 million.)

Beyond that, the bill also provides for mobile and online sports betting — meaning it can take place outside of the state’s land-based gaming facilities. It also allows for wagering on professional and collegiate sports, potentially putting the state at odds with the NCAA.

Full sports betting language from the PA gaming bill here:

PA Sports Section

Where will you be able to bet on sports in PA?

The short answer: Potentially anywhere in the state.

Here’s the definition of “sports wagering” from the law (emphasis added):

“Sports wagering.” The business of accepting wagers on sporting events or on the individual performance statistics of athletes in a sporting event or combination of sporting events by any system or method of wagering, including over the internet through websites and mobile applications.

Betting online

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Because the statute allows for online sports betting, all you would need to bet is an internet connection or a mobile device with cell service. That means you would simply need to be within the state’s borders to legally place a bet; you don’t have to be a resident of the state.

You would still have to register an account in PA, and the logistics of how that will happen for sports bettors would still need to be worked out. And we still have no idea who will attempt to offer mobile/online wagering. But certainly some licensees would.

Betting at casinos

If you didn’t want to bet online, you would obviously be able to place bets at a physical location.

Where that will happen is still up in the air. The law allows any “slot machine licensee” in the state to apply for a “sports wagering certificate” at a cost of $10 million each. Because of the huge outlay of cash up front and the high tax rate, it’s not a guarantee that every licensee would buy into this, as written.

But, if they all did, you could eventually place sports bets at all 12 of the state’s licensed casinos/racinos:

• Harrah’s Philadelphia, Chester
• Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course, Grantville
• The Meadows Racetrack and Casino, North Strabane Twp.
• Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, Wilkes-Barre
• Parx Casino and Racing, Bensalem
• Presque Isle Downs & Casino, Erie
• Mount Airy Casino Resort, Mt. Pocono
• Rivers Casino, Pittsburgh
• Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem, Bethlehem
• SugarHouse Casino, Philadelphia
• Lady Luck Casino Nemacolin, Farmington
• Valley Forge Casino Resort, King of Prussia

There’s also another casino — Live! Philadelphia Casino and Hotel — that is planned. That’s in the city’s stadium district and would be a no-brainer for a sportsbook.

The law even thinks of the fact that there is likely not space in some casinos, as constructed, to put a sportsbook. So it authorizes temporary books:

Temporary facilities.–the board may permit a sports wagering certificate holder to conduct sports wagering at a temporary facility that is physically connected to, attached to or adjacent to a licensed facility, as approved by the board, for a period not to exceed 18 months.