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Online Sports Betting in
Pennsylvania
There are plenty of online sportsbooks to choose from in The Keystone State
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Legal sports betting apps in Pennsylvania
Like other states currently up and running in legalized sports betting, Pennsylvania law allows anyone inside the state borders to bet online or through mobile devices. By state law, mobile apps must be specifically branded for the land-based casinos they represent.
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The current legal sports betting apps in Pennsylvania are as follows:
- BetRivers Sportsbook
- DraftKings Sportsbook PA
- Parx Sportsbook
- FanDuel Sportsbook PA
- FOX BET
- Caesars Sportsbook
- Unibet Sportsbook
- Barstool Sportsbook
- Betfred
- BetMGM
The first of these casinos to launch was SugarHouse Sportsbook PA when they first went live on May 28, 2019. Parx and Rivers launched their online sports betting apps in Pennsylvania the following month and FanDuel launched in July. FOX BET came in early September, just in time for football season. You can register to use these apps remotely as long as you are within state lines.
BetAmerica sportsbook also launched its online platform in December of 2019. They were able to do so through their partnership with Presque Isle Downs. BetAmerica is currently available only through an online browser, but a mobile app is in development.
Mobile sportsbooks in Pennsylvania have proven to be the preferred method in which bettors put money down on sports in the Keystone state. Within just a couple of months, more than 40% of all money being bet on sports in PA was coming through online platforms. This trend has grown since then.
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Pennsylvania sportsbooks
Eleven casinos/racetracks have paid the $10 million license fee to operate PA sportsbooks. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has approved all of them to begin operations and the venues that now currently offer sports betting in Pennsylvania are as follows:
- Harrah’s Philadelphia
- Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course
- Parx Casino and Racing
- South Philadelphia Turf Club
- Valley Forge Casino
- Valley Forge Race and Sportsbook
- Mount Airy Casino
- Mohegan Sun Pocono
- Presque Isle Downs
- Rivers Casino
- The Meadows Racetrack and Casino
- SugarHouse Casino
- Downs at Lehigh Valley
- Wind Creek Bethlehem Casino
- PPG Paints Arena (home of the Pittsburgh Penguins NHL Team)
Greenwood Gaming, owners of the Parx Casino, made a joint application that authorizes sports betting at the casino and the South Philadelphia Turf Club. The PGCB agreed under the condition that betting would not start at the Turf Club until the Parx Casino proves that its new systems work properly. A similar deal was made for Valley Forge and Valley Forge Race and Sportsbook.
Cordish Companies is looking to get on that action as well. They have announced that Live! Casino & Hotel, which will be located in the stadium district of Philadelphia, will come with a retail sportsbook. They also launched a mobile sportsbook through that sports betting license.
Cordish is also trying to use the same license to open a sportsbook at their upcoming mini-casino located near Pittsburgh. The PGCB is still debating whether or not they will allow them to.
Wind Creek Bethlehem also launched its PA sportsbook in the second half of 2020. The casino has partnered with Betfred and Scientific Games in order to launch a retail and digital sports wagering platform.
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Pennsylvania was one of the first states to enter the betting space
Pennsylvania passed laws to allow online gaming before the Supreme Court overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. Lawmakers quickly added sports betting to the law making it one of the first states to enter the market.
The Hollywood Casino operated by Penn National took the state’s first legal sports bets on November 17, 2018.
Since then the state has introduced over a dozen land-based sportsbooks and counting along with half-a-dozen sports wagering apps that are available state-wide. The Pennsylvania sports betting market has proven to be one of the most profitable in the country, despite early doubts.
Mini casinos
Unique to Pennsylvania, the state recently underwent a gaming expansion which included provisions for Category IV casino locations, or mini-casinos. These locations are only granted a set number of slot machines and table games and must be located a minimum distance away from existing casino properties.
Mini-casinos in Pennsylvania also have the option to offer sports betting but so far no concrete plans have been announced.
Off-track betting locations
Pennsylvania also hosts eight off-track betting facilities that offer wagering on simulcast racing events. At first, it was not clear what role these locations would play in sports betting. Ever since Parx’s application for the South Philadelphia Turf Club, other gaming venues have done the same. They have played a major role in expanding the market.
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Gambling taxes are unusually high in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania gaming taxes come in at the extortionate end of the spectrum. The tax rate for sports betting is 36 percent, almost triple the 13 percent tax that New Jersey levies on online sports betting.
Nevada charges only 6.75 percent, which makes it likely that the odds quoted by the Las Vegas sportsbooks will not be available in Pennsylvania.
It is the operators that have to pay these taxes, not the bettors, so there is some scope for absorbing the cost. On the other hand, there is no shortage of casinos determined to get into the market.
PA sportsbooks have been able to turn a profit from offering legal sports betting which is why so many casinos chose to bite the bullet when it came to taxes. Complaints about the tax rate may come from the casinos in the future, but they have made it work so far.
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