It was a celebratory week for interactive gambling in Pennsylvania this week, as the Gaming Control Board approved the license applications of three casinos.
The three casinos were granted licenses for all the sectors for which they applied, namely online table games, online slots and online poker.
The casinos (and their operators) are as follows:
- Harrah’s Casino Philadelphia (Chester Downs and Marina LLC)
- Parx Casino (Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment)
- Mounty Airy Resort Casinos (Mount Airy #1 LLC)
According to the new gambling laws that govern internet gaming in Pennsylvania, casinos need to partner with online gambling software providers in order to offer these services.
Parx Casino has entered into a straightforward partnership with GAN. This contract was signed last month, when Parx filed a petition with gambling regulators confirming that it intended to launch online gambling services in the Keystone State and identified GAN as its software platform provider.
“GAN has demonstrated its Regulated Gaming capability in New Jersey and the merits of integrating with a casino management system, wrote Parx in its petition. “Parx Casino will have the opportunity to launch Regulated Gaming in Pennsylvania later this year, subject to the regulatory approval of the PGCB.”
Harrah’s is owned by Caesars and will be using 888 as its software platform. This is already a working model in New Jersey and Nevada for the brand.
Last week, Mount Airy announced that it be pairing with Poker Stars to provide it with all its online poker, casino and sports betting products. Mount Airy already has a partnership deal with 888. This deal is also seen as an excellent one for Poker Stars as it allows the group to move beyond its only US market – New Jersey.
As a reminder, the nine casinos that submitted applications by the July 16th deadline for the three-pronged online gambling license paid $10 million in fees. The other six (Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem, Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course, Valley Forge Casino Resort, Live! Hotel and Casino Philadelphia, Rivers Casino and Sugarhouse Casino) are still waiting for official approval of their license applications.
The other three casinos that did not meet the July deadline are still eligible to apply for licenses, although they will need to pay $4 for each segment – a total of $12 million if they want to offer online poker, table games and slots.
