Online Pennsylvania Sports Betting Is “Getting Close” To Launch

• Online platforms would put sports betting closer to one-third of all Pennsylvania residents.
• Pennsylvania sportsbooks had to reorganize plans after a DOJ statement on the Wire Act
• The launch is expected to happen before July

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) has released an expected timeline for delivering a mobile sports betting product to the residents of the Keystone State – early summer.

Kevin O’Toole, Executive Director of the PGCB, explained this date was set because it’s the transition of the state’s fiscal year.

“We are getting close,” explained O’Toole, who would like to see the industry launch in early July.

The setback has occurred for a few reasons. The first is the basic platform testing and software certifications necessary to operate the sportsbooks online. However, the second has caused more issues in the grand scheme of things.

The Wire Act Versus Pennsylvania’s Online Gambling Market

A few of the casinos wanted to have operations working between New Jersey and Philadelphia, but the Department of Justice had other plans in mind.

The DOJ released a 23-page statement in late 2018 reconsidering the effects the Wire Act held over online sports gambling.

The statement led to O’Toole writing his own statement to the casino general managers and counsel of the state.

“It is your obligation to comply with the federal law in all respects in establishing your gaming operations which now must be entirely intrastate.”

Some people, like Greenwood Racing CEO, Anthony Ricci, believe that payment processing will be the largest hurdle to overcome. Greenwood Racing owns and operates Parx Casino, who started accepting sports wagers in January of this year.

With the DOJ’s new interpretation, even having Pennsylvania players attempting to deposit or withdrawal from their account across state lines would be a violation of the Wire Act for the sportsbooks.

“I don’t think it necessarily affects what we are going to do,” Ricci said. “We had contemplated putting servers in New Jersey, but that’s not an option now.”

Ricci has also been “concerned about the long-term prospects” of the state expanding into an online sports betting market especially in regards to population disbursement.

Benefitting From Pennsylvania Going Mobile

Pennsylvania has the fifth highest population in the country, which in sports betting terms equals big revenue numbers.

However, Ricci was quick to point out that roughly two-thirds of the citizens already live within 25 miles of a casino that permits sports betting. The state has discussed opening mini casinos as well, which would bring that number up to 90%.

Ricci went on to explain that going mobile will only limit job creation from the brick-and-mortar casinos that have been operating successfully for nearly half a year. Additionally, sports betting attracts a different clientele and his ideas for a permanent sportsbook would be able to attract more players to the facility.

The Greenwood CEO can’t have his cake and eat it too though, as the state, along with the residents, are excited about the reality of online sports betting that is occurring.