A trio of Pennsylvania sportsbooks and one PA online casino operation moved another step closer to opening after the Nov. 28 meeting of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB).
Firstly, the PGCB gave conditional approval of sports wagering operator licenses for Rush Street Interactive and Sports Information Services, Limited, otherwise known as Kambi.
Rush Street Interactive is the online arm of Rush Street Gaming. Rush Street Gaming owns both SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia and Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh. Kambi is a sports betting company working with SugarHouse, Rivers and Parx Casino as each prepares to launch sportsbook operations, both at the casinos and online.
Three more PA sportsbooks ready to go
As a result of the PGCB approving sports wagering operator licenses for both companies, these three Pennsylvania casinos are now on the verge of launching PA sports betting operations.
All that’s left is PGCB testing and the final paperwork on gaming licenses.
Parx Casino was actually the second PA casino property to apply for a sports betting license. It is a looking to launch in December. Parent company Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment are also looking to launch sports betting operations at its South Philadelphia Turf Club off-track betting parlor. However, the PGCB has decided that it will have to wait until the Parx operation passes testing and goes live.
SugarHouse and Rivers previously targeted Dec. 1 for the opening of temporary sportsbooks on the properties. Even with the approvals, the casinos are reporting that date is not going to happen, but hope to launch imminently.
The Sportsbook at Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course opened Nov. 17 after going through testing and its final paperwork in a matter of days.
Following the PGCB’s approval, Kambi’s Chief Commercial Officer Max Meltzer said the company’s future in PA looks bright:
“We’re delighted to have received our transactional waiver from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board today, which puts us one step closer to launching the Kambi Sportsbook with our partners in the state. I’m confident the players of Pennsylvania will enjoy what Kambi has to offer both on-property and online, particularly through the lens of our fantastic customers, who’ll have the ability to leverage our empowerment tools to differentiate, innovate and create exciting sports betting experiences.”
PGCB approves Mohegan Sun Pocono online gambling
In the meantime, the PGCB also approved Mohegan Sun Pocono’s application for online slots and online table games licenses.
The Wilkes-Barre, PA, casino originally applied for a license to operate online poker as well. However, the PGCB allowed it to pull that application this week, giving the casino a $4 million rebate on its licensing fee.
Mohegan Sun has kept quiet about who its online gambling software partner will be. So far, it has only said it is a well known public company in Europe that has filed for similar licenses in New Jersey.
Kindred Group, the owner of the Unibet brand, is really the only company that fits that description. It is quoted on the Swedish stock exchange. Plus, Kindred is Hard Rock Atlantic City‘s online gambling software partner in New Jersey.
It’s worth noting that Kambi is actually a Kindred spinoff. Plus, it renewed a long-term contract to provide sports betting services to Kindred in May 2018.
Hollywood gaming license renewed
Finally, the PGCB voted unanimously to renew Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course‘s gaming license. The PGCB renewed the Grantville casino and racetrack’s license for an for an additional five years.
The PGCB noted it has generated $2.7 billion in gross gaming revenue since its November 2006 opening. Plus, it has also generated $1.4 billion in gaming tax revenue for the state.