PGCB sees a flurry of sports betting license applications

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) has been seeing a flurry of activity regarding filing of applications for sports betting licenses. Penn National Gaming submitted the first application to run a sports book in Pennsylvania. Later, Parx Casino submitted two petitions for operating for sports betting facility in the Philadelphia area.

Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment filed two petitions to offer sports betting at the Parx Casino in Bensalem and at its South Philadelphia Turf Club, an off-track betting parlour in Philadelphia.

Pennsylvania casino owners can pay $10 million to start providing sports betting in the commonwealth. There will also be a 36 per cent state and local taxes on sports books.

A spokesman for the gaming board has said it is unlikely that state regulators will consider petitions before October. Four other states – Nevada, Delaware, New Jersey and Mississippi – already have legalised sports betting. West Virginia sports betting will be open this weekend.

Because of the higher fee structure in Pennsylvania, operators like Penn National and Greenwood could end up offering less attractive betting odds to recover their costs, making their products less attractive than those offered by black-market competitors.

Sports betting arrives at a time when Pennsylvania is going through a broader gambling expansion that was approved last year. That expansion effort will include smaller satellite casinos and online gambling.

In addition to mini-casinos and online gambling, the Commonwealth has launched online lottery games and begun collecting taxes on daily fantasy-sports operators.

Once online casino gambling is up and running, regulators also plan to open up other forms of gambling, including airport gaming and video-game terminals at truck stops.

Source: cpbj.com