Legal and regulated sports betting officially launched in Pennsylvania this weekend with the opening of the sportsbook at Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course.
The William Hill US-operated sportsbook ran live wagering testing Nov. 15 and Nov. 16 to ensure everything complied with state regulations. However, the official launch was 10 a.m. Saturday when the sportsbook at Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course started full operations.
William Hill and casino owner and operator Penn National Gaming converted the existing horse racing simulcast theater on the Grantville property’s second floor into the new sportsbook.
Six windows and a 50-foot TV wall
The space features six new betting windows and a 50-foot wall of TVs for game viewing. Additionally, viewing stations with lounge seating and odds-display monitors will be added at a later date.
The sportsbook is located just off the casino floor near Skybox Sports Bar, which offers a full bar and food menu and additional TVs for game viewing.
Regular hours are 11 a.m. opening on weekdays and 10 a.m. on weekends. The sportsbook closes at midnight daily.
Additionally, the casino is hoping to launch statewide online and mobile sports wagering in early 2019.
Available wagering
In-person wagering is now available on a wide variety of pro and college sports including:
- Auto racing
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Boxing
- Cycling
- Football
- Golf
- Hockey
- MMA
- Rugby
- Soccer
- Tennis
Available wagers include straight bets, parlays, matchups, futures, props and in-play betting.
The launch of the state’s first sportsbook makes PA the seventh state in the country to offer legal single-game wagering. The other states are:
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- Delaware
- Mississippi
- West Virginia
The PA sports betting market
PA sportsbooks must pay a $10 million licensing fee to obtain a license. Additionally, the activity is taxed at a rate 36 percent of gross sports betting revenue.
However, four other casinos have conditional approval from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB). Additionally, a fifth, Valley Forge Casino Resort, applied for a PA sports betting license just last week.
The four other casinos with conditional approval from the PGCB are:
William Hill
William Hill US is an offshoot of the UK’s William Hill. It is one of the world’s largest sports betting operators.
The US division is the largest sports betting operator in Nevada. However, with the launch of legal sports betting across various states, William Hill has also become the top sports betting operator in the country. It now operates in Delaware, New Jersey, Mississippi, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.