Three Casino Operators Approved For Online Gambling In Pennsylvania
Three down and six to go as Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board gets to work
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board awarded Interactive Gaming Certificates to three casino license holders Wednesday.
The approvals were the first made by the Board for Interactive Gaming in its plan to consider all nine petition requests by casino operators at its August, September and two October 2018 public meetings. The Board has yet to establish a date in which Interactive Gaming will commence.
Gaining approval today were:
- Chester Downs and Marina, LLC, operator Harrah’s Philadelphia
- Greenwood Gaming & Entertainment, Inc., operator of the Parx Casino
- Mount Airy #1, LLC, operator of the Mount Airy Casino Resort
All three of the approved certificate holders can conduct:
- Non-Peer-to-Peer interactive games which simulates slot machines;
- Non-Peer-to-Peer interactive games which simulates table games; and,
- Peer-to-Peer interactive games which simulates poker.
The license fee for each of these approved certificates is $10 million and is due no later than 60 days after today’s Board approvals.
UPDATE
At Wednesay’s PA Gaming Control Board hearing, it was revealed that Presque Isle and Mohegan Sun Pocono land casino licensees have become the tenth and eleventh applicants for Pennsylvanian online gambling licenses.
Presque Isle paid $8 million for licenses covering virtual table games and slots, but not poker, while Mohegan Sun paid $12 million for licenses spanning casino games and online poker.
The duo joins nine other PA land-based casinos, all of whom applied for an all-inclusive licence ahead of a deadline that gave casinos until mid-July to apply for table game, slot, and poker licenses for the discounted price of $10 million. Having missed the deadline, Presque Isle and Mohegan Sun were required to pay $4 million per licence.
With their entry, the only brick-and-mortar casinos in Pennsylvania not to apply for an online gambling license of some sort are Lady Luck Nemacolin and The Meadows. Pennsylvania has already locked up $110 million from online gambling, which was legalised last October, all before the first virtual bets are taken.
Churchill Downs, which has long been a proponent of online gambling, agreed to acquire Presque Isle in February this year (see previous InfoPowa report). Churchill also has a long-term agreement with sports betting and iGaming platform provider SBTech.
Mohegan Sun Pocono has yet to announce partnerships for Pennsylvanian online gambling, but it has an existing relationship with SG Digital, and in New Jersey it partners with Resorts-PokerStars; however, PokerStars has already paired with Mount Airy in Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania Lottery Launches Inspired Virtual Games
But state land casino operators are not happy…
Licensed land casino operators in Pennsylvania are reportedly less than pleased by Wednesday’s launch of virtual games by the state lottery.
The games, Xpress Football and Xpress Car Racing, were developed by Inspired Gaming and supplied through an agreement with Scientific Games.
The virtual animated games are streamed live on large monitors within the state lottery’s 1,500 outlets, and enable punters to win up to $250 from a $1 wager.
David La Torre, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Casino Gaming Coalition, claimed in a statement that the games “…combine elements of online casino games, sports betting and slot machines, areas that are legislatively restricted to the Commonwealth’s casino operators.”
La Torre said his group would fight the Lottery’s “illegal attempts to cannibalize the state’s casino industry.”
State governor Tom Wolf revealed late last year that virtual sports would be added to the lottery’s gaming options; the product has been available in New Jersey since November 2017.
Pennsylvanian state law specifies that the state lottery is prohibited from offering online products that simulate casino-style games, leaving the introduction of virtual games open to debate.
Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board Passes Temporary Sports Betting Regulations
But there are still no applicants for pricey licensing
Apparently ignoring the fact that there has not yet been a single application for the expensive Pennsylvania sports betting licences, the state Gaming Control Board on Wednesday voted to approve the temporary regulations currently standing.
The Board decided what types of sports betting will be allowed and what will be prohibited, rules regarding the testing of systems that would be used for sports wagering, and reports that licensees would be required to submit to the board. The regulations also cover integrity monitoring, organisational requirements, some consumer protection measures, as well as compulsive and problem gambling issues.
The regulations permit betting operators to offer wagers on local college sports but maintains the discouragingly high fees and taxes imposed by legislators which are believed to be keeping state casino operators away.
A $10 million Application Fee is required, and companies are expected to pay 34 percent tax on GGR and a further 2 percent local tax.
Commenting on the lack of applications, the Board’s communications chief Doug Harbach said:
“I don’t know if there is a specific reason no petitions have been submitted as of yet, but it’s our understanding that there is interest from some of the casinos and they have publicly stated their plan to bring legal sports betting to Pennsylvania.
“I think the New Jersey numbers are showing that people want to participate in sports wagering and a lot of it was going on underground and that we feel that sports wagering is going to be very lucrative in Pennsylvania,”
The next Board meeting is scheduled for September 12, which means that there will be no licensed sports wagering in Pennsylvania when the NFL football season starts.
Pennsylvania Regulator Set To Discuss Sports Betting Regulations
Regulations will be based on state legislation passed 10 months ago
Industry observers are expecting new developments in Pennsylvanian sports betting to flow from a scheduled meeting of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board Wednesday at which board members are to discuss and possibly vote in new regulations based on state legislation that was approved with contingencies 10 months ago (see previous InfoPowa reports)
The legislation (HB271) has passed its biggest contingency, a requirement that sports betting must be federally approved or PASPA overturned by a Supreme Court ruling, and the nascent state sports betting industry now awaits the formal regulations from the Board.
InfoPowa readers may recall that state lawmakers agreed that operators should pay $10 million for a licence, as well as a hefty 34 percent state tax and a 2 percent local tax – a total almost five times that set by Nevada which has given operators pause for thought regarding making application.
Among the items set down for discussion at Wednesday’s meeting are the types of sports betting that will be permitted, rules for technical systems testing, provisions to counter underage and problem gambling, and responsible gambling requirements from operators. The Board may also discuss the nine applications for online gambling licenses which have been submitted by existing state gambling licensees.
Pennsylvania Casino Operator Chooses The Stars Group As Its Online Partner
Partnership to launch online poker, slots, and casino table games as soon as it receives a licence from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board
Pennsylvania land casino operator Mount Airey announced Friday that it has selected the Canadian online gambling company The Stars Group as its online gambling partner in Pennsylvania.
The Stars Group has an international online presence that includes successful licensed online activity in New Jersey in partnership with an Atlantic City operator.
The partnership agreement covers a full slate of internet wagering options, including sports betting and poker; the land operator said that the partnership plans to launch online poker, slots, and casino table games as soon as it receives a licence from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
Mt. Airy was one of nine Pennsylvania casinos that applied last month for the state’s first interactive gaming licenses, allowed under a 2017 gaming law (see previous InfoPowa report).
The casino’s agreement to offer online sports betting is also an indication that it is preparing to enter the nascent sports-wagering market as soon as state regulators complete drafting rules governing the business.
The Stars Group announced recently it was extending its partnership in New Jersey with Resorts Casino Hotel to include online and mobile sports wagering through The Stars Group’s BetStars brand. The company already offers online poker and casino betting through PokerStarsNJ and PokerStarsCasinoNJ.
The Stars Group, which is licensed to operate in 19 countries, owns or licenses a range of online gaming brands, including PokerStars, PokerStars Casino, BetStars, Full Tilt, Sky Bet, Sky Vegas, Sky Casino, Sky Bingo, and Sky Poker.