Gambling and betting regulations in the United States are easing up with the federal services pulling out of the business of each individual state. Instead, local gaming bodies are overseeing the segment, with Pennsylvania just placing its first legal bets this week.
Pennsylvania Accepts First Legal Bets
Pennsylvania has effectively become the 7th state in the United States to legalize sports betting, launching the segment on Thursday, November 15. With one of the brand names taking the helm, to name Penn National Gaming, Hollywood Casino and Penn National Race Course both began accepting “punts” on the outcome of sporting events.
This pilot phase is designed to help punters find out more about how actual betting works. On Friday, November 16, the Skybox Sports bar also started accepting punts to test how gamers can use alternative venues to place wagers safely and reliably.
Meanwhile, an intelligence firm, Eilers & Krejcik Gaming has posted some encouraging statistics, indicating that the state could be sitting on top of a figurative gold mine. According to the analysts, Pennsylvanian gamers could be placing wagers worth $12 billion, year in and year out.
This is an unprecedented amount that easily outstrips other bastions of the gaming experience, such as Nevada. In fact, Nevada’s forecast is put at sub-$4 billion, which gives the newly-fledged industry in Pennsylvania a decisive advantage in the grant scheme of the betting world.
Penn Starts to Process Bets for the Future of the Industry
Not wasting time, Penn National began to quickly accept wagers and log it into its system, although some technical complications led to slight delays. However, this is nothing new, especially when trying to launch a large offer across multiple platforms. Penn National has been getting a lot of help from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB), too.
According to the Hollywood Casino General Manager, Dan Ihm, the PGCB has done quite a bit to help Penn quickly set up its offer and make the launch possible.
They moved heaven and earth to get us to this point and we couldn’t be more excited to be Pennsylvania’s first sportsbook. – Dan Ihm
As matters stand, the three casinos, to wit Penn, Parx and Hollywood are the first to obtain a license from the gambling commission. But not all are thinking just about regular sports betting. It’s said that Parx are now planning to quickly punch up their offer and introduce live betting, which will add distinct excitement to the overall process of gambling in the country.
Now that the trio seems to be a success, more casinos are waiting in the pipeline to get a quick go at the big fortunes. Some of those include, the Harrah’s Philadelphia, Rivers Casino Pittsburgh, SugarHouse Casino, Valley Forge, and a handful of others who are still dithering whether they should push ahead with an application.
The enthusiasm around sports betting has been growing since the federal ban was repealed in May, and we look forward to providing our patrons with another great amenity to enjoy at Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course. – Penn CEO Timothy Wilmott
According to Penn National CEO Timothy Wilmott, the company was absolutely pleased to own the first casino that is authorized to bring sports betting to enthusiast in Pennsylvania.
