Pennsylvania Online Gambling Revenue
Roar Digital’s igaming brand BetMGM has quietly opened its doors to players in Pennsylvania by soft-launching online casino, slots and table games for real money after partnering with Penn National’s Hollywood Casino.
In Pennsylvania, online casinos continued a rocketing revenue run with a record in October of nearly $59.8 million. That’s a healthy increase from the former record of $57 million set just a month before, according to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) figures. Not only did Pennsylvania casinos report revenue of $281.5 million, which was more in line with pre-pandemic levels, but revenue from sports gambling and online casino games made up 22% of total.
“The long wait is over. BetMGM is now live with casino gaming in Pennsylvania!” says the BetMGM website.
The soft launch testing period will run for three days until Thursday during which players will have limited access to the games. As per the website, play will be available today for eight hours from 2 PM to 10 PM ET. On Wednesday, the beta testing will be expanded to ten hours from 10 AM to 8 PM and on Thursday, for twelve hours from 10 AM to 10 PM.
Should all go well, it will become fully operational starting December 4, open 24 hours and allowing players to place wagers at any time.
As part of its soft launch, BetMGM is offering new players a welcome bonus package that includes $25 in FreePlay. Furthermore, the site is also offering a First Deposit match bonus up to $1000.
Due to the limited operating period, online casino offerings are limited to a few games, with more games to be added once the site moves closer to a full launch.
BetMGM Sidelines Online Poker for Now
The soft launch of online casino gaming comes following the approval of BetMGM by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) five weeks ago.
In late October, the PGCB granted BetMGM (doing business as Roar Digital) an Interactive Gaming Operator License, allowing the operator to offer online casino and poker in the Keystone State.
Online poker enthusiasts will be disappointed to know that online poker is not part of the operator’s initial igaming offerings. However, given the complexities of vetting an online poker platform due to the nature of how the game is played, it is not surprising to see Roar prefer launching online casino games ahead of its poker product.
Online poker is eventually expected to be launched by BetMGM along with a partypoker-branded room (partypoker PA) on the partypoker US Network potentially in the coming weeks, although, an early 2021 launch is looking more likely.
Another operator, 888, is also eyeing the Pennsylvania online poker market after it was recently approved by PGCB as an Interactive Gaming Manufacturer. However, the timeframe for the launch of an 888-branded (888poker PA) or a WSOP.com-branded (WSOP PA) online poker room in Pennsylvania remains unknown.
As of now, PokerStars continues to remain the only online poker room operating in the state. In November, PokerStars PAcelebrated its first anniversary of operating in the state. During its first year, the operator generated over $35 million in online poker revenue.
BetMGM 12th Operator to Offer Online Casino in Pennsylvania
With the launch of BetMGM in Pennsylvania, there are now a dozen online casinos in the state. Hollywood Casino (also operating under Penn National) and Parx Casino were the first two casinos to go live on the very first day of igaming in Pennsylvania.
Since then, various casino operators have launched including SugarHouse, BetRivers, DraftKings, Unibet, FanDuel, and Fox Bet.
To bring its online casino product to the Keystone State, BetMGM has partnered with Penn National Hollywood Casino as its land-based casino partner.
The BetMGM brand is already operating in seven other US states: Colorado, Indiana, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, Tennessee, and West Virginia, with Michigan coming soon.
It offers sports betting in all of these states; online casino in New Jersey and West Virginia and online poker in New Jersey.
BetMGM is also anticipated to launch sports betting in Pennsylvania in the coming days. It recently partnered with the Pittsburgh Steelers as its official sports betting partner.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pandemic-related shutdowns in Pennsylvania, the nation’s No. 2 commercial gambling state, helped knock casino revenue down by 18%, state regulators reported Thursday, and it would have been much worse without the advent of online gambling and sports betting.
Revenue from regulated gambling in Pennsylvania shrank to $2.7 billion in the just-finished fiscal year, down from a new record high above $3.3 billion a year ago, according to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
Revenue from slot-machine gambling was down by $680 million and table games were down by about $240 million, both nearly 30%. But online gambling contributed $240 million and sports betting brought in $114 million in the first full year for both in casinos’ portfolios in Pennsylvania.
The state’s 12 operating casinos spent much of the spring shut down, while online gambling went on. Online sports betting also continued, but was hobbled by the cancellation of sporting events during the pandemic.
Pennsylvania legalized both as part of an aggressive gambling expansion in 2017.
Pennsylvania Online Gambling Revenues
Pennsylvania was the nation’s No. 2 state for commercial casino revenue in 2019, behind Nevada, according to American Gaming Association figures. It was No. 1 in tax revenue from casino gambling last year, but the gaming board estimates that the state’s take will shrink to $1.1 billion from $1.4 billion in the last fiscal year.
Pennsylvania Online Gambling Laws
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