Arch-online gambling foe Sheldon Adelson’s company awarded licence
Industry observers have remarked on the irony of Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem’s achievement of online gambling licensing from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board Wednesday, pointing to the vehement opposition to the vertical that Sands owner Sheldon Adelson has consistently displayed over the past decade.
But there has been no change of heart by the multi-billionaire, who has spent millions campaigning against online gambling and trying to get the genre banned in the USA, mainly through the Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling.
Instead it is a case of the company enhancing its value prior to being sold off to Wind Creek Hospitality, an affiliate of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians of Alabama, for a reported $1.3 billion.
Sands Bethlehem agreed to pay $10 million for Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board licenses to offer poker, table game and slot machines on smartphones, tablets and other devices connected to the Internet, and its application was unanimously approved by Board members Wednesday.
PGCB spokesman Doug Harbach explained that it was clear the iGaming application was made on behalf of Wind Creek, and the Board had to act on Sands Bethlehem’s application within 90 days of the July application deadline.
Neither Sands Bethlehem nor Las Vegas Sands Corporation were prepared to comment when approached by local media.
The other iGaming licence issued Wednesday by the PGCB went to Boyd’s Valley Forge casino, which will offer online slots, video poker, table games, live dealer games and poker while race and sports betting will come later.
The igaming site will run on GAN’s platform while Paddy Power Betfair’s FanDuel will market the site and provide branding for it. IGT will integrate sports betting on GAN’s platform once the casino receives necessary approvals.