Five of 13 available licenses granted
By all estimations, Pennsylvania’s newly legal commercial sports betting operations are about to begin. With the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board’s approval October 31 of sports betting licenses for to Harrah’s Philadelphia in Chester, SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia and Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh, the only remaining question was which casino would be the first to go live with a sports book.
Last week, it became clear that Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course in Grantville will get the honor of launching the state’s sports-betting industry, after the gaming board approved William Hill US as its partner, which will operate the Hollywood sports book.
Penn National could be up and running within weeks or even days, according to comments by a spokesman for the operator to CNHI News Service. “We’re hoping to begin around the middle to the end of this month but are still awaiting final sign-off,” said Eric Schippers, a spokesman for Penn National said on November 2. That final sign-off appears imminent.
William Hill US, the subsidiary of the British bookmaking giant, already operates sports books in a number of other states, including on behalf of Penn National in Mississippi and West Virginia, as well as New Jersey, Delaware and Nevada.
“Hollywood should move forward now pretty briskly,” Doug Harbach, a spokesman for the Gaming Control Board, told the news service. “Most of the work going forward is in the hands of the casinos, which must get their physical location set up.”
Penn will be the first of several physical and online sports books that will open over the next few months. Parx Casino in Bensalem, which had been expected to start operations around the same time as Hollywood, told the Play Pennsylvania news site last week that it will launch a temporary sportsbook sometime “in the next few months.”
The temporary Parx Sportsbook will open in the former 360 bar while construction proceeds on the permanent facility. Parx parent Greenwood Gaming announced it is investing $10 million into the permanent sports book, which will feature a full roster of betting options, including a selection of in-game betting.
“Parx Casino is thrilled to announce the launch of legalized sports betting on property and construction of a sleek, state-of-the-art Parx Sportsbook,” said Senior Vice President of Interactive Gaming Matthew Cullen in a press release. “We will build the best sports book in the country—and set the industry standard for this fast-growing arena.”
The temporary sports book will feature 28 high-definition television screens and two 16-by-9-foot display screens, with the ability to broadcast 36 different events at once. There will be seven teller windows and 45 self-service betting kiosks in the book on the casino floor and in the poker room.
Meanwhile, Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh, owned by Rush Street Gaming, is planning for its sports book to be open by early December. In a brief hearing prior to the board’s October 31 vote, representatives of Rush Street Gaming, set December 1 as their target date to open the sports book at Rivers. There will be a temporary location next to the casino’s high-limit room with a permanent location expected to be completed early next year.
“Essentially, sports is in our DNA at the property here in Pittsburgh,” said Andre Barnabei, Rivers vice president of slot operations, in an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Like Hollywood Casino and others, the book will take wagers on professional and collegiate sports, and will include in-game wagers. The temporary sports betting space at the Rivers will encompass more than 3,000 square feet that will include 98 seats, 15 wall televisions to view games, a bar with video poker games, self-service betting kiosks and a counter with staff taking wagers.
Rush Street Interactive partners with the Kambi Group, which is based in Europe and operates sports books around the world. The SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia, which is also owned Rush Street Gaming, received its own approval October 31 to use the same providers with intent of also taking sports bets starting December 1.
Harrah’s Philadelphia in Chester will not be far behind. “We thank the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board and look forward to working with them to bring a best-in-class sports betting offering to market,” said Harrah’s Philadelphia Senior Vice President and General Manager Chris Albrecht in a statement. “We know Pennsylvanians are passionate sports fans and we are working hard to be ready to launch a sports book at Harrah’s Philadelphia along with a mobile product when first given the go-ahead.”
Harrah’s will build out a 4,322-square-foot sports book facility inside its existing facility with an expanded food and beverage offering. The proposed sports book area would be adjacent to table games and feature 40 flat-screen televisions with packages for all major sports leagues, as well as international and college sports packages.
The area will also include an odds board, six teller windows, self-betting kiosks, two horseracing terminals and stadium-style seating, according to the presentation the company gave before the gaming board.
“This was just another sort of step in the process here, but we don’t have a ‘go-live’ date,” said Seth Palansky, vice president of corporate communications for Caesars Interactive Entertainment, in an interview with the Delco Times. “You have to get your software in and approved for online, that sort of thing. We don’t know if we will get it in this (football) season or not.
“From our standpoint, there might be some additional applications for any partners they have for licensing, and then eventually we’d have to make sure the equipment is tested and works correctly, and then have some test sessions on-site just before the opening so we can sign off on it opening to the public,” Harbach told the newspaper.
Harrah’s will offer on-site sports betting as well as mobile and interactive sports wagering at its Chester location, using the Scientific Games Open Bet platform.
