Yesterday, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board revealed that a second owner of a gambling venue in the state has demonstrated interest towards offering sports betting services.
As revealed by the state gambling regulator Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment filed two applications at the close of business on August 24th, only a week after the first petition to operate a sports betting service in the state of Pennsylvania was filed by Penn National Gaming. The gambling company seeks the regulatory authority’s approval to offer a sportsbook at two of its venues – the Bensalem-based Parx Casino and the off-track betting parlor it owns in Philadelphia – the South Philadephia Turf Club.
Earlier in August, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board gave the green light to regulations under which sports betting could be legally offered on the territory of the state. The first application for a sports betting operation license was filed by Penn National Gaming on August 17th. The company revealed that it wants to add sports betting to the offering of its Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course.
A spokesman for the Pennsylvania gambling regulatory body revealed that the Board will probably take the filed petitions into consideration in October at the earliest. For the time being, several other states, including New Jersey, Nevada, Mississippi and Delaware, have already legalized sports betting. The state of West Virginia will see its sports betting sector officially open at the beginning of September.
Sports Betting Comes to Pennsylvania as Part of Broader Gambling Expansion
US states have been given the opportunity to add sports betting to their gambling offering thanks to the US Supreme Court which has ruled in favor of New Jersey in the state’s sports betting case. The decision of the Supreme Court was groundbreaking, as it lifted the federal ban on sportsbook services which was imposed by the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992.
On the other hand, the addition of sports betting to the state’s gambling options comes as part of a larger gambling expansion which got an official approval in 2017 and is set to include online gambling and so-called mini-casinos, also known as “satellite casinos”. Online lottery games have also been launched in the state.
As mentioned above, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has already greenlighted sports betting regulation. Under the new rules, Pennsylvania casino owners would be given the chance to pay US$10 million in order to operate sports betting in the commonwealth. Sportsbook operators will also be required to pay state and local taxes amounting to 36% of their sports betting revenue.
For the time being, the state of Pennsylvania features a higher fee structure which has been the reason why some market experts have shared their belief that companies such as the two operators that already applied for a sports betting license could eventually offer less attractive betting odds in order to recuperate their costs. However, experts also shared their fears that the sportsbook products which are to be offered by the companies could be found less attractive in comparison to the products offered by the ones of other companies operating on the black market.
