Online casinos are a relatively recent addition to the gambling market in Pennsylvania, and they are starting to become a significant contributor to gambling revenue in the state. New PA online casinos are opening up at a pretty rapid rate.
And this is on top of Pennsylvania being the second-largest land-based casino sector in the United States, with only Nevada having a bigger casino industry.
Since 2011, revenue data from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board shows that more than $3 billion of revenue has been generated annually by the state’s casino sector since 2011. That is remarkable growth, given that casinos did not start accepted customers in the state until 2010.
And with many new online casinos still entering PA, we expect to see more players join the fray as the evolution of online gambling continues.
The most recent addition to the ranks of casinos in Pennsylvania is BetMGM Casino, which launched on December 4, 2020. There are over 500 casino games for online players at this casino.
That choice includes a whole host of table games as well as slots like Gonzo’s Quest, Cleopatra, and 88Fortunes. Some of the world’s top developers have contributed games to the casino, and players can choose slots from software developers with great reputations like Konami, NetEnt, and IGT. Special games like Evolution’s Dream Catcher are also on offer.
There is also a mobile app available for both Android and Apple users, and this offers a full range of functions. You can deposit and withdraw funds, claim bonuses, and change your account settings via the app. BetMGM is quickly becoming one of the best places for online gambling.
FanDuel started life as a fantasy sports betting site and has since moved into the world of online sportsbooks. It also launched a casino site in PA on January 24, 2020.
Regulated by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, it is partnered with the land-based Valley Forge Casino Resort. It is the American subsidiary of gaming industry conglomerate Flutter Entertainment Plc, which was formerly known as Paddy Power Betfair Plc.
FanDuel does offer a standalone casino app, so if sports betting isn’t your thing, you can have an exclusive casino app. Due to FanDuel Casino being so new in PA, the library of casino games is still growing.
BetRivers Casino is operated by Rush Street Interactive, and players in PA can now access the site to play in the casino as well as place bets in the sportsbook.
Officially launched on January 20, 2021, BetRivers offers tons of games including craps, roulette, and blackjack, as well as slots from developers like IGT, NetEnt and Konami.
The BetRivers app combines sports betting and casino games all in one place with one account. The app is available for both iOS and Android operating systems.
Caesars Entertainment is one of the most recognizable gaming brands in the United States, if not the world. There are over 50 land-based casinos across the US, and the brand merged with Eldorado Resorts Inc, creating a further expansion in gambling. Caesars Online Casino went live on April 23, 2020, in Pennsylvania.
You can download the Caesars Casino app for both Android and iOS, where you can wager on casino games, place sports bets, and play poker all from one place.
PlayLive offers players a massive selection of slots, though it is much more limited when it comes to the choice of table games on offer. Recently launched, there are still only a handful of versions of blackjack, roulette, and video poker available, though we would expect this selection to increase soon.
The Live! brand is one of the best-known brick and mortar casino names in the United States and we expect them to be a major player in the online community. Two new Live! bricks and mortar casinos are set to open in Pennsylvania soon, one in Pittsburgh and the other in Philadelphia.
If you want to play at PlayLive on your Android or Apple device then there is an app available, and you can easily download this via the casino website or through the Apple Store. The casino also has a strong social media presence, keeping you up to date through Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
There are a number of pretty persuasive reasons why signing up to a new online casino can be a very good idea. First, as a new player, you can claim a tempting welcome bonus. In fact, you can sometimes claim more than one bonus, with casinos like BetMGM offering a no deposit bonus alongside their first deposit bonus.
In addition to the bonuses, you also get the chance to try a different range of games. Different casinos have agreements with a varying selection of software developers, so opening an account at a new online casino can be a great way of trying out new slots and other games.
As well as a nice welcome bonus and a greater selection of casino games to play, signing up for a new casino can also bring other benefits. One of these is that your new casino might deliver new features or a unique take on the user experience.
Download casino apps to play on the go and experience new games, fresh promotions, and bank on new gambling sites doing everything they can to keep you on board.
Golden Nugget has been approved to operate in Pennsylvania and is sure to offer plenty of entertainment if its New Jersey offerings are anything to go by.
Golden Nugget has the largest casino game portfolio in the Garden State and a fantastic welcome bonus, so we expect that to carry over when the company does launch in Pennsylvania.
Players can download an app for either Apple or Android operating systems, so you can easily play on the go.
Legal gambling in Pennsylvania really dates back to 1971, which was when the PA state lottery was established as a government-controlled entity. While there was a push to legalize casino gambling in the state in the 70s and 80s, it never materialized, with plans to build a casino in the Pocono Mountains Resort Area being thwarted by polls of local residents that revealed a certain amount of hostility to the idea.
That would not really change, despite pushes from several quarters to legalize other forms of gambling in the state, until 2004, when legislators passed Act 71. Known as the Pennsylvania Racehorse Development and Gaming Act, this piece of legislation established the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, and made casinos and racetracks legal in the state.
It was in 2017 that online casinos in Pennsylvania were made legal, though operators didn’t launch until 2019.
On July 15, 2019, Hollywood Casino was the first gambling site to go live at 11 am.
The next casinos that followed were Parx and SugarHouse. Two more would join those ranks later in 2019, PokerStars and Unibet. In 2020, BetRivers, FanDuel, and BetAmerica also became operational in PA.
In total, there are now eight PA online casinos operating in the state, as well as four bricks and mortar venues. Of the four bricks and mortar casinos, two are at racetracks, one at a hotel resort, and one is a standalone casino venue. Harrah’s and Parx are the racetrack casinos, while Valley Forge Casino is located at a hotel resort and SugarHouse is a standalone casino.
The future of online casinos in Pennsylvania would seem to be pretty rosy, with new operators sure to be planning ventures into the state as the sector continues to grow. It seems very likely that the range of games on offer at the already established online casinos will continue to expand as operators conclude new deals with software providers.
We would expect to see further innovations too. Live Dealer games just went live in PA. And as the sector becomes more crowded, operators will also seek new ways to promote their sites and refresh their customer base, meaning that more tempting welcome bonuses and other offers are likely.
The future looks bright for online casinos in PA, and that can only be good for the state’s economy in the long-run. We would certainly expect to see many interesting and exciting developments in the world of online casinos in Pennsylvania in the coming years.