Mobile Sports Betting Coming to Pennsylvania
The wait is nearly over for those living in the Keystone State. Legal Sports Report has reported that within three weeks Pennsylvania sports betting will begin to be available via mobile devices.
Doug Harbach, communications director of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, told Legal Sports Report “We expect to begin live testing of the online sports betting app for at least one of the approved casino vendors within the next 2-3 weeks.â€
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As Legal Sports Report notes, the identification of the ‘approved casino vendor’ which will roll out the mobile sports betting is not known at this time. Currently, there are nine potential vendors, including:
Pennsylvania Sportsbooks & Casinos
- Hollywood Casino
- SugarHouse Casino
- Rivers Casino
- Parx Casino
- South Philadelphia Turf Club
- Harrah’s Philadelphia
- Valley Forge
- Valley Forge Race and Sportsbook
- Presque Isle Downs
So, why is this significant if there have already been sportsbooks live in Pennsylvania? While sports betting has been legal at the vendors mentioned above, mobile sports betting is expected to take wagers generated to the next level.
PA’s neighbor, New Jersey, currently reports more than 80% of its legal sports betting comes from a mobile device. Pennsylvania reported over $44 million in wagers in March 2019, but there is obvious room for growth given the nearly 10x that amount — close to $400 million — that New Jersey generated in March with the option of mobile sports betting. And that nearly $400 million generated came from nearly 3.5 million fewer residents than Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania currently has eight sports betting shops, with the first opening in November of 2018. The state has taken a conservative approach to rolling out its sports betting options, and that has certainly been the case with their mobile offering. However, it appears that residents are merely weeks away from being able to place bets via their mobile devices.