Penn National, SugarHouse Casino Latest Online Gaming Licencees in Pennsylvania

Five casinos have now been approved for online gaming by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB), after Sugar House and Penn National Gaming were granted licenses during Wednesday’s board meeting.

Pennsylvania online gaming growth: with the addition of Penn National Gaming and SugarHouse this week, five operators are now licensed in the Keystone State. (Image: europeangaming.eu)

Along with SugarHouse and PNG, Parx, Harrah’s, and Mount Airy casinos all previously received licenses from the PGCB as well.

Ready to Roll

In a presentation to the Board, PNG announced it was partnering with IGT Global Solution, GeoComply, and Aristotle. According to the presentation, IGT will provide security for the online casino.

IGT has implemented both technical and organizational security measures to ensure the protection of personal data,” according to PNG’s presentation.

The company said it will help with responsible gaming by offering deposit limits and giving players an option for a “Cool Off” period.

The parent company of SugarHouse, Rush Street Interactive, pointed the GCB towards its continued revenue growth in New Jersey’s online gaming industry since entering the field two years ago and said it is “prepared to hit the ground running in Pennsylvania.

Out-of-State Casinos Next in Line

Five of the 11 casinos that have  in Pennsylvania have now been approved. The PGCB made three licenses per gaming venue available to the state’s 13 casinos: one each to operate online slots, table games, or poker. It cost state-based casinos $10 million to claim their stake for all three licenses.

Two Pennsylvania casinos The Meadows and Lady Luck have chosen to forego their three available licenses per venue, and one extra poker license was left on the table by Presque Isle Downs. Those seven remaining licenses will now be offered to casinos outside of the state.

Applicants attempting to get into Pennsylvania’s online gaming industry must be a “qualified gaming entity” (QGE) that satisfies PGCB requirements. However, any QGE that receives a license won’t be getting the $2 million hometown discount that the Pennsylvania casinos received. Instead, out-of-state applicants must pay $4 million per license, meaning if they wish to acquire all three, it will cost $12 million.

The PGCB will then conduct a “blind random drawing” from the group of applicants, until all seven remaining licenses are spoken for.

Poker Players Dealt a Hand

Harrah’s Philadelphia is owned by World Series of Poker operator Caesars Entertainment. The company s digital branch, Caesars Interactive Entertainment (CIE), will launch with Harrah’s once internet gaming is launched statewide, possibly before the end of this year.

In anticipation of online gaming, Pocono-based Mount Airy Casino earlier in the year. PokerStars will provide the casino with an online platform and Mount Airy provides the company a chance to regain footing in a second American state after New Jersey following its Black Friday banishment back in 2011.