Parx Casino, a top Pennsylvania retail casino located in suburban Philadelphia, in partnership with GAN plc, a European developer and supplier of online gaming services, software and content, debuted Parx Online Casino on July 15, the first day online casino gaming became legal in the Keystone state.
Parx, owned by Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment, Inc., missed being the state’s first online casino to launch by just a short margin, coming in second only to Hollywood Casino’s online debut three hours earlier.
At launch, 47 casino games were released for desktop and mobile browsers, as well as an Android-compatible smartphone app. Parx and GAN also launched online sports betting in the state on June 24. Retail customers are able to link their rewards cards to online casino and sports betting accounts.
John Dixon, Chief Operating Officer of Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment, Inc., said:
“By leveraging GAN’s proven platform, Parx Casino has now deployed both Internet sports betting and Internet casino gaming, integrated with our on-property rewards program, to become among the very first Internet gambling operators to launch in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”
Although Parx’s online sports wagering app for Apple iOS users became available in the Apple App Store earlier this month, the online casino cannot be accessed from the app just yet.
Apple changed its app store policy last June and now requires real money gaming apps for iPhone and iPad to be written on native iOS code – a time-consuming process for complicated features such as online slot machines. Since Apple accounted for nearly 45% of the United States smartphone market in 2018, that situation is likely to change sooner rather than later.
Pennsylvania’s PlaySugarHouse.com instructs iPhone and iPad users to access its online casino using a mobile browser and the GeoGuard app to verify location.
Partnership Continues Growth
The multi-year partnership extension between Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment, Inc. and GAN plc that was signed shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court repealed PASPA in May 2018 has proven to be beneficial for both businesses.
GAN reported 128% year-on-year growth in gross operator revenue in the second quarter from April to June 30, 2019, reflecting increasing demand for mobile sports betting and online casino cross-selling from Internet sports bettors in New Jersey.
Dermot Smurfit, Chief Executive Officer of GAN commented:
“The extraordinary year-on-year growth rate experienced in Q2 reinforces our confidence in the U.S. strategy executed on by GAN following the repeal of PASPA, as well as our platform technology’s ability to scale to meet the needs of our diverse clients. The rapid rate at which states continued to legalize Internet gambling in Q2 continues to validate our confidence in the U.S. market opportunity.”
GAN developed and patented an internet gambling enterprise system in 2014, which it primarily licenses to land-based U.S. casino operators to provide the technology for regulated real-money internet gambling, including online gaming, sports wagering and virtual simulated gaming.