About eighteen months after the adoption of the law on legalizing gambling on the Internet the state of Pennsylvania has announced that it expects the first series of gaming sites to be launched on July 15th. Pennsylvania is officially the fourth state in the United States to legalize online casino games. Sports betting is already live in Pennsylvania, and online poker games are expected to go live this summer as well.
According to Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, should things go as planned, such a successful “The Keystone State” would become the fourth US jurisdiction to legalize online gambling following in the footsteps of New Jersey, Delaware, and Nevada.
According to the report, seven land-based venues of thirteen operating in the state have already received their licenses to start offering online poker games after the said date. A total of ten casinos have applied for and successfully received licenses to provide and slots electronic table games. Online casinos in Pennsylvania expected to be launched in mid-2019 include Harrah’s, Hollywood, Mount Airy, Mohegan Sun Pocono, Parx, Presque Isle, Rivers, SugarHouse and Valley Forge.
The Canadian iGaming operator’s PokerStars brand, The Stars Group Incorporated, will likely be one of the first gaming sites to go live in Pennsylvania. The launch is likely to happen through a cooperation agreement with Mount Airy Resort and Casino. Another operator likely to follow the suit is PartyPoker, a brand operated by GVC Holdings in cooperation with Valley Forge Casino.
Sports Betting Good to Go as Well
According to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control board, the week starting with Monday, July 15, 2019, will be a timeframe for the start of the iGaming implementation This should provide approximately 90 days for the licensees and operators to meet their obligations and deliver all required information and materials to the state’s Control Board. They will also need to provide the necessary inside controls and to gather all the certifications required to offer online gaming in the state of Pennsylvania.
The PA Gaming Control Board is working hard on reviewing interactive applications, and it will be over soon. Players in 6th-most populous state will have a chance to play playing casino games in the nearest future. This news brought excitement to many casino lovers.
Gov. Tom Wolf accepted and signed the bill in October 2017, turning it into law and making Pennsylvania the fourth state after New Jersey, Nevada, and West Virginia to make online betting on sports legal. This is likely to result in online intrastate services for sports bookmakers going live in the near future, perhaps starting with unique-branded deals from Valley Forge Casino, Mount Airy Resort and Casino, and SugarHouse.
The publication date announcement is reportedly coming after the last month when the Board responded to the Federal Government’s change to the 1961 Wire Act for indefinitely postponing the launch of regulated online poker and other online gambling services. However, the state’s regulator is now happy to move forward with the plans as they sent out a letter in which all licensees are advised that they must fully meet the new legal position by not providing iGaming services across state borders.
