Good news is in the pipeline for people in Pennsylvania who want to place their sports wagers online and from mobile devices.
Of the nine casinos offering sports betting in the state, only four have online and mobile sportsbooks available, but five more casinos could soon be offering equivalent services, according to Doug Harbach, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
PA casinos currently with mobile sportsbook apps
- Rivers Casino (Rivers Sportsbook)
- Valley Forge Casino (FanDuel Sportsbook)
- SugarHouse Casino (SugarHouse Casino’s Sportsbook)
- Parx Casino (Parx Sportsbook)
PA casinos launching mobile sportsbook apps soon
- Hollywood at Penn National (Hollywood Sportsbook)
- Harrah’s Casino (Harrah’s Sportsbook)
- South Philadelphia Race and Sportsbook (South Philadelphia Race and Sportsbook)
- Oaks Race and Sportsbook (Oaks Race and Sportsbook)
- Presque Isle Downs (BetAmerica Sportsbook)
Pennsylvania’s online and mobile sports betting market has started to gain some ground as an alternative to being in the casino.
In the month of July alone, sports bettors wagered over $59 million in Pennsylvania and $39 million came from smartphones, tablets, and computers.
And for most of last month, the state had only three casinos offering online and mobile services. A fourth casino began accepting bets via website and app toward the end of July.
The state government and local communities are hoping to collect more tax revenue as a result of the expansion in online sports wagering. The state gets a 34% cut of the casino’s revenues after the bettors have been paid. The local community gets a 2% cut of the revenues after all the payouts.
From July 1, 2018, to June 30, 2019, the state collected $131.7 million in gaming tax revenue. Factoring in the projected increase in online gambling, which includes online sports betting, that number rises to a projected $181 million for Pennsylvania’s 2019-20 fiscal year.
With a 38% increase in revenue projected, many PA residents are hoping that will help lower property taxes, which is why many state lawmakers voted to allow Internet-based gambling and sports betting in the first place.
As long as the bettors follow one of the golden rules of gambling—do not bet more than you can afford—the increasing number of casinos offering online and mobile sports betting is a win-win for Pennsylvania and the consumer.
The increased offerings will allow the state to collect revenues it otherwise would not have received, and a competitive market will force companies to continue innovating their sports betting services while focusing on the golden rule of marketing: The customer is always right.