- The Mohegan Sun Pocono and Mount Airy Casino are located within 40 miles of each other.
- Each casino has already partnered with a sports betting provider.
- The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has not indicated a deadline for their decision to approve the casinos.
HARRISBURG, Pa. – Sports Betting in Pennsylvania has been expanding all year, with venues applying to host the activity in every corner of the state. Recently, two more casinos have applied to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) in order to do the same.
The Mohegan Sun Pocono and Mount Airy Casino submitted applications to the Board simultaneously in order to host their own land-based sportsbooks.
The gaming venues are located only 40 miles apart and neither location wanted to miss out on additional revenue or a new customer base.
In order to be approved by the PGCB, each casino will have to pay a license fee of $10 million dollars and pay the state a tax rate of 36% from their total sports betting revenue.
The PGCB has already authorized 8 casinos in the state of Pennsylvania to host their own land-based sportsbooks and has yet to deny any establishment that has applied. However, the state has not yet approved any online or mobile betting platforms.
The two applications submitted by the Mohegan Sun Pocono and Mount Airy Casino each come with an established sports wagering partner.
Even though the Mohegan Sun tribe is from Connecticut and their casino located in that state will be powered by Kambi, the Mohegan Sun Pocono in PA is going to work with the Kindred Group.
As for Mount Airy Casino, they already have established contractual relationships with The Stars Group as well as with 888 Holdings, who specializes in online gaming. One of them is expected to handle the casino sportsbook in the event that they are approved by the PGCB.
Future Outlook of PA Sports Betting:
Mount Airy is also looking to the future with this application. In their petition to the PGCB they wrote:
“It is anticipated that the addition of sports wagering will enhance the Mt. Airy facility, increasing it’s competitiveness in the regional gaming market by providing a significant amenity for gaming patrons. Mt. Airy will endeavor to market to the online sports wagering customers in order to drive additional traffic to the land-based facility.”
If they plan to use an online platform for the sole purpose of attracting in-person bets at their casino, they may take the route of Parx Casino.
Parx currently has a betslip builder that allows users to build their bets on their mobile device. The platform will show bettors how their bets would potentially pay out, but they would still need to be at the facility in order to finalize their wagers.
However, if Pennsylvania wants to compete with neighboring state New Jersey in terms of online sports betting revenue, they will need to approve a license for that soon.
According to the PGCB’s sports wagering revenue report, the month of February of this year only saw a little over $660,000 being given to the state from a total of all active PA sportsbooks.
In the same month, however, New Jersey was able to collect over $1,660,000 in sports wagering revenue from online platforms alone.
The state of Pennsylvania has seen continual growth this year in regards to its sports betting operations. The PGCB’s approach to first authorizing all possible land-based sportsbooks for sports betting in Pennsylvania before allowing online betting sites seems to be their goal.