Exclusive: PA Expecting Ten New Online Casinos: Here Are Six We Know

Gaming regulators estimate that up to ten Pennsylvania online casino apps will launch by the end of June 2023, PA Gaming Review can reveal.

A spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) told PA Gaming Review that six online casino operators — Bally Bet, Fanatics, Fubo, Golden Nugget, PlayStar, and WynnBET — had started the licensure process with the regulator.

“There are some additional potential iGaming operators that may launch within the year but have not filed for licensure,” PGCB spokesperson Richard McGarvey said Friday. Information about which land-based casinos the operators would partner with was not disclosed.

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Some Online Casino Partnerships Expected

The estimate of 10 additional online casinos by June 30, 2023 — the last day of the 2022-2023 fiscal year — was included in the PGCB’s 40-page annual report for the 2021-2022 fiscal year, which was released September 28.

In its report, the PGCB said its staff “will be working on the launch of up to ten additional online sites to offer casino-type games.”

The Keystone State currently has 18 active online casinos. Its gaming law requires online casino operators to each partner with a land-based casino. However, there is no limit to the number of skins a casino may have in the vertical. For example, Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course has five skins.

But the casinos are limited to one operator for an online sportsbook and one for retail. That complicates figuring out which operator is likely to partner up with which casino, but some alliances are expected:

• Bally Bet Casino PA — Likely Partner: A proposed mini-casino in State College. The parent company, Bally’s Corporation, is a partner for the facility, the last of five mini-casinos in various stages of development in the state. But the proposed casino faces strong local opposition and could be relocated.
• Fubo Casino PA — Likely Partner: Live! Casino Pittsburgh. A mini-casino that opened in November 2020. Fubo signed a market access agreement with The Cordish Companies, the casino’s owner, in July 2021.
• Golden Nugget Casino PA — Likely Partner: Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course. DraftKings completed its Golden Nugget Online Gaming (GNOG) acquisition in May. The deal was designed to make DraftKings an instant force in the online casino vertical. With DraftKings already on the Hollywood Casino at Penn National license, an alignment there makes the most sense.
• PlayStar Casino PA — Likely Partner: Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino and Racetrack. Online casino PlayStar, powered by the Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) platform, secured a market access agreement with Caesars in July 2021 that gives it access to Pennsylvania.

It’s unclear who Fanatics or WynnBET might partner with. The former doesn’t have an online casino platform and isn’t live in any jurisdiction. Meanwhile, WynnBET operates on the Caesars license in neighboring New Jersey — but considering Caesars Sportsbook is already live through Harrah’s Philadelphia, it seems unlikely to enter the market under that license.

Betfred and MaximBet Likely to Join Market

McGarvey said three online sportsbook licenses — with two mini-casinos, Live! Casino Pittsburgh, Parx Shippensburg, and Lady Luck Casino Nemacolin are currently available. It’s possible that either Fanatics or WynnBET could partner with one of the three. Parx Shippensburg is scheduled to open in early 2023.

TwinSpires is currently running an online casino and an online sportsbook under the Presque Isle Downs Casino license, but is expected to shut down operations in the state at some point. The departure of TwinSpires gives another operator a chance to launch in the state.

Betfred operates online and retail sportsbooks at Wind Creek Bethlehem Casino. Betfred also has an online casino platform, so it could be one of the four online casino operators that — coupled with the six operators already known because they have started the licensure process — would make up the full complement of ten envisioned launching soon by the PGCB.

One online casino operator with definite plans to launch in Pennsylvania is MaximBet. The brand has a partnership with Caesars, under which it launched online casino gaming and sports betting in Indiana in late September. A partnership where MaximBet only launches online casino is possible.

PlayUp also has a partnership with Caesars but currently offers sports betting only, not online casino.

Potential Online Casinos in Pennsylvania

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