Pennsylvania Green Lights Three Online Gambling Licenses

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Friday, August 17th, 2018 | Written by Shane Larson

Last month, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) received nine online casino license applications worth $10 million each just before the tender’s July 16th cut-off date, after which licenses would only be available for individual online games (casino, poker, slots) at a cost of $4 million apiece. One month later, and the PGCB has officially granted licenses to three of the applicants, namely Harrah’s Casino Philadelphia, Parx and Mount Airy Resort Casino, who will now be given two months to settle their fees, .

The Keystone State has trodden a painfully slow and arduous path on its way to legalizing online gambling and reaching the point where licenses applications are now being taken by the PGCB. The latest pace of development, however, would suggest that the process is likely to be considerably quicker and smoother going forward.

Three iGaming Licenses

According to the PGCB, three interactive gaming licenses were approved following a public meeting held by the Board for Interactive Gaming. During its first meeting in August, the aforementioned three casino operators had their submitted license applications considered, with two more meeting having now been scheduled for the months of September and October in order to consider the other list of candidates .

End of 2018 Launch?

Considering the high $10 million fees paid by each of the new licensees, it’s fair to assume that they will be aiming to offer the full range of online games when Pennsylvania’s online gambling market launches possibly by the end of 2018. With the last of the application meetings taking place in October, however, it remains to be seen whether this target will be achievable. Commenting upon the process, PGCB’s Director of Communications, Doug Harbach, stated:

“We also have a good bit of background work to do with other entities, other services, that will partner with these casinos in (launching interactive gaming). And with regulations so, while we’re getting closer to being able to launch, at this point, we’re still a little bit down the road from seeing that happen.”

Apparently, the PGCB is seeking to establish a common date for all online gaming activity to launch in the state. According to gaming analysts, however, a unified launch date may have to be pushed back until 2019 in order to allow enough time for all the operators to complete their preparations.

The Licensees

On August 15th, the PGCB announced its licensing approval for the owners of three of the state’s casinos, including Chester Downs and Marina (Harrah’s Casino Philadelphia), Greenwood Gaming & Entertainment (Parx Casino), and Mount Airy (Mount Airy Resort Casino). Considering the high $10 million fees paid, it’s fair to assume that they will all be aiming to offer the full range of online games when Pennsylvania’s online gambling market finally launches.

In terms of their strategic partnerships, Mount Airy Resort Casino already has a deal in place with 888 dating back to 2015, while this week it also announced a partnership with The Stars Group, indicating that its online poker product will eventually be available via a PokerStars platform.

Meanwhile, the Caesars owned Harrah’s Casino Philadelphia is partnered with 888, which in turn has a close relationship with WSOP.com in both the New Jersey and Nevada markets. Harrah’s is therefore likely to bring both WSOP and 888 online poker brands to Pennsylvania, although no specific announcements to that effect have been made at this time.

Finally, Parx Casino is partnered with GAN, providing it with a natural path forward to offering online casino and sports betting products in Pennsylvania. Its potential online poker partner, however, remains a mystery, meaning that it may not currently be considering the vertical, or else is planning on announcing a poker partnership later on down the line.

Remaining Licenses?

In July, 9 of the state’s 13 potential casino applicants applied for a $10 million license allowing them to provide all three online gambling verticals. More recently, Mohegan Sun missed the deadline and paid $12 million for all three games, while Presque Isle Downs Casino paid $8 million to offer just table games and slots, while omitting poker from its application. The reasons why Mohegan Sun delayed its application until after the “discount” period ended remains a mystery, with the operator also yet to make its sports betting plans known.

Currently, just Lady Luck Casino and the Meadows Racetrack & Casino have yet to tender applications, although there may be good reasons behind their possible reluctance.

– Churchill Downs Inc announced this week that it has signed an asset purchase agreement with Lady Luck Nemacolin. The company already owns Presque Isle Downs, though, and therefore may be planning on offering its online gambling products in Pennsylvania via just this venue.

– Penn National Gaming, Inc. owns Hollywood Casino and last month tendered an application to offer all three licenses via the property. It recently purchased Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc, too, and as part of the deal acquired the lease for the Meadows Racetrack. Thus far, however, the firm has shown no indication that it intends to apply for additional licenses, and offer online gambling through Meadows as well.