Pennsylvania Sports Betting Now Reaches Six Casino Operators

• Valley Forge Casino Resort paid their $10 million license fee on December 19, 2018
• FanDuel will now operate a sportsbook in New Jersey, Mississippi, and Pennsylvania.
• The land-based book will open in April, while the online platform will open in the summertime.

PHILADELPHIA – After almost eighty days of waiting for approval, Boyd’s Valley Forge Casino Resort was informed by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board on Wednesday that they would be granted a conditional sports wagering operator license.

The license was physically granted to Betfair Interactive US, LLC, who is the parent company of FanDuel and has a sportsbook partnership with the casino. This grants FanDuel the ability to begin their preparations to start accepting wagers.

The partnership includes both brick-and-mortar and online betting, but the latter isn’t expected to launch until the summertime.

Valley Forge Casino will have major competition becoming the newest and smallest venue to offer sports betting in the well-established Philadelphia area. The city and suburbs boast four operating sportsbooks that saw their handle reach over $17.5 million in January.

That won’t scare off Valley Forge Casino, whose partnership with FanDuel will only bring name recognition and experience in the game. FanDuel operates one of the most successful land-based and online betting platforms in New Jersey at the Meadowlands Racetrack.

“We are really looking forward to partnering with FanDuel,” said David Strow, Vice President of Corporate Communications at Boyd Gaming. “[The familiarity] is a reason for people to come to Valley Forge Casino Resort and give our product a try.”

Boyd Gaming bought the casino in September of last year. With the purchase came a $40 million renovation to the facility and machines.

The renovation included work to the casino gaming floor, event center, and buying more slot machines with the newest titles. Now, the property will look to introduce a sports betting lounge.

The expected plans show the casino boasting 7 teller windows and 6 self-service terminals to place your sports wagers. There will be seating capacity for roughly 30 people in the 1800-square-foot area.

Having a smaller venue may inhibit the ability to keep up with the sharks in Philadelphia but FanDuel is no stranger to promotions and getting players in the door. Last year, the daily fantasy operator paid out wagers (to the eventual losing team) on the College Football National Championship a month before the game was played. The company also ran a promotion during the Super Bowl 53, where picking the winner straight up would pay out 53 to 1.

These tactics may have lost FanDuel money in the immediate, but when players win big, the casinos seem to as well.

The land-based sportsbook is set to make its opening in early April, perhaps after MLB Opening Day and the NCAA Final Four, but just in time for the NBA and NHL playoffs.