Online Casino In

Online casinos are now live and legal in West Virginia. DraftKings Casino became the first online casino to open its doors to West Virginians in July 2020. The launch of DraftKings is only the first of a handful of casinos that could come to the Mountain State.

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Real money casinos come equipped with a number of features including blackjack, table games and, of course, slot machines. One of the defining features, though, is the bonus offers. Almost all legal casinos offer a no deposit bonus in addition to a deposit offer. This can add hundreds of dollars to your casino account if you know where to go and what code to use.

Thankfully, you’re in the right place to find that information, too. We have all the latest deals with online casinos in West Virginia. Read on for all the latest news, updates, and those bonus codes for online casinos in the Mountain State.

Best online casino in West Virginia

When did WV online casinos launch?

The first West Virginia online casino launched in July 2020. DraftKings Casino began accepting wagers as part of its partnership with Hollywood Casino Charles Town.

With the launch, West Virginia became the fourth state in the US to offer online casino play to its residents and visitors. The Mountain State joins Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania as locations for casino play through laptops and mobile devices.

As it happens, West Virginians can now access their favorite casino games through Android or Apple (iOS) devices. The app allows for both real money and demo play so that players can play at their preferred comfort levels.

BetMGM Online Casino also launched in WV in 2020, offering bettors another popular online gambling option in the state. In late 2020, Golden Nugget Casino announced it would launch its online casino app next.

Online Casino Bonuses in West Virginia

One of the truths about running an online business of any type is that your competitors are only a click away. No business owners are more acutely aware of this fact than online casino operators.

So, in order to attract and retain players, online casinos will always have some sort of promotions or bonuses running. Since these bonuses often come with an opportunity for you to put hundreds of extra dollars into your casino bankroll, they are worthy of your attention.

Here are some common types of online casino bonuses you can find in West Virginia online casinos.

No deposit bonuses

One of the first types of bonuses that you might find is also one of the sweetest. It is possible to get money or free bets placed into your account without ever having to spend a dime. The no deposit bonus is always a good thing.

No deposit bonuses are pledges from the online casino to infuse a certain dollar amount into your player account. This amount is usually no more than about $20, and it may come in the form of free bets. However, there is rarely a time that you should not take advantage of this kind of bonus offer.

Risk-free bet

Another excellent type of promotion to grab if you see it is the risk-free bet. With this kind of bonus, the online casino will issue you a voucher for a wager of a certain amount that is good for betting on its games.

Now, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. The first thing is that the online casino may limit the games that you can use the risk-free bet to play. You should still use risk-free bets when they come along, but you might have to go outside your comfort zone to do so.

The second issue is that risk-free bets are usually indivisible and cannot be split to make multiple bets. Any unused portion will become void, so make sure to bet it all with these types of wagers.

However, risk-free bets are great things. There’s a reason that this type of promotion and no-deposit bonuses are the most common types offered to new players. Don’t ever miss out on them when they come around.

Deposit/match/reload

Deposit bonuses are quite common offers that you can find at most online casinos. In this type of bonus, the casino will match all or a portion of your deposit amount and put it into your account.

The only catch is that the casino will always require you to play through the amount before you can withdraw it as cash. In some cases, you need only wager through once, but some deposit bonuses require playthrough 50x the bonus amount.

Between the requirement and the time limit placed upon its redemption, you might find yourself in a bit of a bind to redeem a deposit bonus. However, not all deposit bonuses are impossible, so you should consider each offer carefully.

These bonuses are also called match bonuses from time to time. A casino might also offer a reload bonus to existing customers, but they are essentially identical to deposit bonuses.

Free spins

Free spin bonuses are quite similar to free bet bonuses, in that you are granted the ability to take part in a gambling game without paying anything. In a free spin bonus, the casino will present you with a certain number of slot machine spins that you can redeem at any time.

However, the casino will usually designate the slot machines eligible for the promotion, and they tend not to be the progressive machines with the highest jackpots. In some cases, a casino might have a special slot machine specifically set aside for the promotion.

There’s really no reason not to use this promo, though. At worst, your only loss is the time you spend spinning.

Cashback

Whenever you gamble, there’s always a chance that things won’t work out. So, online casinos will sometimes offer to make things right if you lose. Cashback bonuses do exactly that. A cashback bonus will compensate all or a portion of your net losses during a certain period of time or on a certain game. The bonus will either be in the form of site credit, or it will be straight cash.

Either way, you’ll have another bite at the apple. For the most part, these are a no-brainer.

Loyalty/rewards programs

In order to reward players who keep returning to their site, online casinos will often create a loyalty program or rewards scheme. These programs allow players to accrue points as they play normally.

Those points are redeemable for various prizes, perks, or benefits on the site. Those benefits can include free bets, cash, restaurant vouchers, or reservations at the casino’s land-based partner. The more you play, the bigger your award.

Loyalty programs are almost always free to join. Since they exist in the background, make sure to sign up so that you can get extra spiffs when you’re onsite.

How to play free and real money casino games

West Virginia online casinos offer a wide range of different games.

The state lottery commission approves all games run by online casinos in WV. A quick path to that approval for online casinos is to offer electronic versions of the same games already approved at land-based casinos across the state.

That includes a small variety of online table games and online poker variants, and plenty of variety in online slots.

Here’s a look at the games you can find in West Virginia online casinos:

Online slots

Slots are popular enough with the gambling public that they take up the majority of the floor space inside West Virginia land-based casinos. They take up a lot of bandwidth at WV online casinos, as well.

Inside WV casinos, some of the classic reel one-armed bandits are still around, although most have been replaced by modern video slots with new gameplay features, bonus games and pop-culture themes.

The most popular of these slots have also made the move to online sites. Designers such as IGT, Bally and WMS have created online versions of their most popular titles at brick and mortar casinos.

That means West Virginia online casinos can feature dozens of these modern video slots, which are based on popular television, movie and musical themes with wild and scatter symbols and bonus games. Plus, there are online versions of classic reel slots.

Other types include multi-denomination slots, penny slots, and high-roller slots. Some have fixedjackpots, and others have progressive jackpots.

As online gambling expands in the state, casinos will continue to roll out new versions of these, leading to hundreds of online slots for you to choose from.

Online blackjack

Blackjack is the most popular table game at WV casinos, and the game’s popularity translates well online. You can find the same blackjack games you encounter at WV land-based casinos employed online.

The good news is that blackjack is played under player-friendly rules in WV with a return-to-player rate of 96.6%. In other words, the house advantage is only 3.4%.

The low-house edge is due to the following rules:

• Blackjack pays 3:2.
• Dealer stands on soft 17.
• Double down any cards.
• Double after splitting.
• Surrender available.

Online roulette and video poker

American roulette has a single and double zero slot, which almost doubles the house edge of European roulette and its single zero slot. In other words, if you want to play roulette online in West Virginia, we suggest you look around for European roulette.

Video poker has made the transition online in every state with online casinos.

The popular standards you play at brick and mortar casinos make it online in WV as well. That means multi-denominational and multi-hand versions of jacks or better, deuces wild and bonus poker are available at WV online casinos.

Other online table games

Since you can find the following table games at WV land-based casinos, WV casino sites host online versions of the same games. The only real difference between the two is that computerized random number generators determine the outcome of the games online, instead of dealers and playing cards.

• Three card poker
• Four card poker
• Pai gow poker
• Let it ride
• Mini baccarat
• Ultimate Texas Hold ’em

Games you won’t find online in WV

The following games may one day be played at online casinos in West Virginia, but aren’t available just yet.

Online craps

Craps is the most social game at WV casinos, but the social side of the game doesn’t translate all that well online.

Simply put, online craps isn’t as much fun as its live counterpart. The loss of the social aspect hurts the appeal of the game, and the speed at which the online game plays can make the tumbling dice difficult to follow.

Live dealer games

Live dealer games combine live casino games with online wagering. The games are run by real people inside live gaming studios. Real dealers run the action, online casinos put up a simulcast of it and you can bet on it through an online betting interface.

You can even interact with the dealers and other players as it happens. Online casinos offer the following live dealer games across the US:

• Blackjack
• Three-card poker
• Baccarat
• Casino hold ’em
• Roulette

However, WV online casinos don’t yet offer live dealer casino games, mostly due to the cost of setting up a studio.

Casinos will more likely want to see what the market is like without live dealer games before determining if there is a big demand for these games.

Most popular casino game developers

The top land-based slot and casino game developers in the world also build games for online casinos in the US. They include:

IGT Slots

International Gaming Technology is one of the biggest gambling companies in the world. Iconic IGT slot titles include Megabucks and Wheel of Fortune.

IGT is also a leader in pop-culture-themed slots and linked jackpot slots like its MegaJackpots series. Some of IGT’s most popular slots include:

• Cleopatra
• Texas Tea
• Da Vinci Diamonds
• Wolf Run
• Monopoly
• Ghostbusters
• Sex and the City
• Jurassic Park
• Avatar

WMS Slots

WMS Industries has designed and built iconic slot titles like the Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and James Bond 007-themed games.

WMS now operates under the Scientific Games umbrella, alongside Shuffle Master and Bally.

Some of its other popular slots include several Monopoly titles, Zeus and Kronos Unleashed. WMS is also responsible for themed slots such as:

• The Simpsons
• Mad Men
• Seinfeld
• Star Trek
• The Flintstones

Bally Slot Machines

Bally is an iconic American casino and gaming brand. Its most popular slots include the Quick Hit series, Triple Cash Wheel and Asian-themed slots like Lucky Tree and Fu Dao Le.

AGS Slots

American Gaming Systems is a Nevada-based live casino and online slot designer responsible for titles like:

• River Dragons
• Fire Wolf II
• Rakin’ Bacon

AGS’ Xtreme Jackpots linked-progressive series is also growing in popularity. It includes:

• Wolf Queen
• Winter of the Dragons
• Longhorn Jackpots

Konami slots

Konami is a video-game-turned-worldwide-slot-machine developer. It now creates original slots and games based on its popular video game licenses.

Some of Konami’s hottest slots include:

• Dragon’s Law Twin Fever
• Solstice Celebration
• Chili Chili Fire
• Lion Festival
• Castlevania

Deposit options and how to cash out winnings

Every West Virginia online casino operator wants to make it easy for you to get money into your online casino account. So, there are a wide variety of deposit and withdrawal options available to you.

Deposit options include:

• Credit and debit cards: Casinos take Visa, Mastercard and other major cards, provided the issuing institution approves of online gambling transactions.
• Electronic checks: E-checks allow you to link your bank account and online casino account through a clearinghouse.
• Online banking: Online banking transactions permit you to link your bank account and online casino account.
• Electronic wallets: E-wallets like PayPal and Skrill can be used for online casino transactions.
• Prepaid cards: The online casinos may issue their own or accept other companies’ prepaid cards as deposit methods. Prepaid cards typically function in the same manner as a gift card.
• PayNearMe: PayNearMe transactions allow you to make cash deposits at 7-Eleven stores. You need only to let the PayNearMe software to generate a unique barcode for your transaction, then head to your nearest convenience store to complete the transaction.

For the most part, online casinos in West Virginia allow you to withdraw money the same way you deposited it. If that doesn’t work, they issue you a check through the mail. Withdrawals may take a day or two on average.

WV casinos eligible for online gambling

Five casinos in West Virginia are eligible to offer online slots, blackjack and video poker.

Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races

• Location: 750 Hollywood Drive, Charles Town, WV 25414
• Casino: 2,500 slot machines, 100 table games, 16-table poker room
• Owner/Operator: Penn National Gaming
• Mobile Sportsbook Operator: DraftKings Sportsbook
• Online Casino Partner:DraftKings Casino – Launched July 2020

Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort

• Location: 71420 Mountaineer Circle, New Cumberland, WV 26047
• Casino: 1,500 slot machines, 36 table games, 12-table poker room
• Owner/Operator: Century Casinos
• Retail Sportsbook Operator: William Hill
• Possible Online Casino Partners: William Hill, Bet365

Mardi Gras Casino & Resort

• Location: 1 Greyhound Drive, Cross Lanes, WV 25313
• Casino: 1,000 slot machines, 30 table games, 18-table poker room
• Owner/Operator: Delaware North
• Retail Sportsbook Operator: Betly powered by IGT
• Possible Online Casino Partner: IGT

Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack

• Location: 1 S. Stone St., Wheeling, WV 26003
• Casino: 2,000 slot machines, 40 table games, 20-table poker room
• Owner/Operator: Delaware North
• Retail Sportsbook Operator: Betly powered by IGT
• Possible Online Casino Partner: IGT

The Greenbrier Casino Club

• Location: 101 Main St. West, White Sulphur Springs, WV 24986
• Casino: 320 slot machines, 37 table games
• Owner/Operator: Justice Family Group, LLC
• Mobile Sportsbook Operators: FanDuel Sportsbook, BetMGM
• Online Casino Partner: BetMGM Casino, Golden Nugget online casino

Which gambling sites are live in WV?

How online casinos work in West Virginia

The launch of online gambling completed a journey that West Virginia has been traveling since lawmakers passed the West Virginia Lottery Interactive Wagering Act in early 2019. The bill became law on March 27, 2019, when Gov. Jim Justice let his legislative veto window pass without signing it.

More than a year later, on April 29, 2020, the West Virginia Lottery Commission, tasked with overseeing all types of gambling in the state, approved a set of emergency rules related to the launch of online casinos.

The licenses granted by the law gives holders the right to launch up to three online gambling sites offering online poker, online slots and online table games for a period of 270 days. Each operator is charged a $100,000 license fee; software providers must pay a $10,000 fee, and West Virginia will implement a 15% tax on gross online gambling revenue.

The West Virginia Legislature will have the opportunity to make the regulations permanent when they reconvene for the 2021 legislative session. However, with the interim rules in place, online casinos are already beginning to launch in the state.

Who is eligible for an iGaming license?

Only existing land-based West Virginia casinos can apply for master iGaming licenses. This includes:

However, each casino can operate up to three skins under its master license. That means online casino operators from outside WV are free to partner with West Virginia casinos to launch inside the state.

Who will regulate the casino industry?

The West Virginia Lottery Commission regulates the casino industry in West Virginia. It has also been tasked with providing oversight and running the licensing process for online gambling and online casinos in the state.

Taxes and licensing requirements for online casinos

Land-based casinos in WV can obtain a master license that allows them to operate up to three online casino skins. Each operation must pay a $100,000 license fee. Plus, software providers working with these casinos must pay a $10,000 fee to operate inside the state.

Once an online casino is up and running, they will be required to pay the state a 15% tax on all gross online gambling revenue. Currently in WV, that’s just DraftKings and BetMGM.

The road toward legal WV online casinos

West Virginia’s path to legal online gambling started with online and mobile sports betting. The state authorized the launch of retail and online sportsbooks in 2018.

BetLucky, a partnership between Mardi Gras and Wheeling Island casino owner Delaware North and sports betting tech provider Mionmi, launched in December 2018. The pair also partnered on retail sports betting operations at Mardi Gras and Wheeling Island.

Then, a dispute arose between the partners resulting in the online and retail operations both closing abruptly in March 2019. It was around this same time that WV lawmakers passed the West Virginia Lottery Interactive Wagering Act. The bill, which authorized online casino gaming, became law on March 27, 2019, when Gov. Jim Justice let his legislative veto window pass. He did not sign the bill.

West Virginia Lottery officials spent the next year continuing to work mostly on mobile sports betting regulation. FanDuel Sportsbook and DraftKings Sportsbook received licenses and launched in August 2019. BetMGM has since launched, as well.

Delaware North also partnered with IGT to re-launch retail sports betting at Mardi Gras and Wheeling Island.

Then, on April 29, 2020, the West Virginia Lottery Commission finally approved a set of emergency rules to govern online casinos in the state.

The lottery commission sent these rules over to the West Virginia secretary of state for approval on May 15, 2020. The secretary of state has 42 days from May 15 to approve or reject the rules, which means interim licenses could be granted to West Virginia’s first online casinos anytime from now through the beginning of July.

The WV casino market

Horse racing and pari-mutuel wagering have been popular in West Virginia since the 1930s.

In 1987, West Virginia allowed for video lottery terminal gaming to launch inside the Mountaineer Park racetrack.

By 1994, the West Virginia Racetrack Video Lottery Act passed, making the operation of video lottery terminals legal at all West Virginia race tracks in an effort to boost the local horse racing industry. The Mountaineer, Wheeling and Mardi Gras tracks all started running video lottery terminal casinos with over 1,200 video lottery machines that year.

In 1997, the Hollywood Races and Slots facility opened at Charles Town Races, running a similar VLT operation.

In 2007, the Mountaineer and Wheeling facilities installed poker tables and eventually began running table games as well, including blackjack, Caribbean stud, craps, roulette, three-card poker and four-card poker.

Mardi Gras installed table games a year later, and by 2008 the Greenbrier launched with video lottery and table games as well.

Hollywood Races and Slots became the Hollywood Casino in 2010, and the Greenbrier got the authorization to run a full-scale casino as well.

Almost a decade later, in early 2019 WV lawmakers passed online gambling legislation allowing WV casino to go online.

PA online casinos are up and running, and growing fast.

If you are 21 years or older and inside Pennsylvania state lines, you can now enjoy online slots, table games, and video poker from your desktop computer or mobile devices.

This page contains all the information you need to start playing at online casinos in PA.

Below is a guide to the games you can play for free and for realmoney at PA online casinos. After that, you’ll find information on apps, bonuses, safety, and geolocationtechnology.

Regulated casinos also include protection for problem gamblers, which we cover at the end of this page.

Best online casinos in Pennsylvania 2021

Real money and free online casino games in Pennsylvania

You can play most games at PA casinos online for fun. Playing games in demomode, or with play-money chips, allows you to find the titles you like before you gamble.

The only category of games that are notavailable for free play is live dealer table games. You can watch them, though you will not be able to wager on them – at least yet.

The current offerings on real money online casinos in PA are growing, and fast. Casino sites regularly add new games as they are approved by the PA Gaming Control Board (PGCB).

We offer an overview of how diverse these casino game categories are. Keep in mind that the most prominent New Jersey online casinos offer more than 600 titles.

Play PA online casino games for real money

The number of Pennsylvania online casinos is now in double-digits. All of the PA casino apps are available 24/7 and offer online slots, video poker, and table games such as roulette, blackjack, and baccarat. Use this table to compare the real money casinos in PA.

PA online slots

Slots are the biggest category of games for any online casino. You can expect to see over 200 games listed on some sites and you’ll need some way to sort the list of slot titles.

Firstly, casinos will feature their most popular games. You can use filters to search by, e.g., the number of reels, game developer, progressive jackpots, and so on.

If you enjoy live casino slots, then you will be able to play a lot of these online. You can search by name, or browse the listings for IGT, Bally, or another live slot studio.

Many online casinos feature classic games, e.g., Wheel of Fortune, Cleopatra, and WolfRun. You can also find traditional three-reel slots. Online slot studios like IGT created these.

When you browse the tiled graphics for slots to enjoy, you’ll see progressivejackpots listed underneath many of them. These pools can get massive, up to $1 million or more.

Table games at PA online casinos

Tablegames are a broad category, although it mostly covers all the casino games played on the greenfelt.

While most are card-based, dice and roulette wheels also fall under table games. Live dealer games are in this category; however, we will cover them separately.

This list is for the software-based versions:

• Blackjack: There are a lot of variations of basic blackjack rules. These include games with side bets, multi-hand games and entertaining variants like Blackjack Switch, Free Bet Blackjack, and Spanish 21.
• Roulette: You can bet your favorite numbers or try complex betting systems with online roulette. Where available, choose the European roulette wheel because the single zero reduces the house edge.
• Casino poker games: A lot of card-based table games use poker-hand rankings. Online casinos have Caribbean Stud, three-card poker, Ultimate Texas Hold ’em, Let It Ride, Pai Gow Poker, and Casino Hold ’em.
• Baccarat: Two of the three bets you can place in baccarat have a very low house edge. As long as you avoid the “tie” bet, this favorite among high rollers can be entertaining.
• Craps: With two betting phases and the chance to go on a hot streak as long as no 7s are rolled, craps is a lively live casino game. This appears at some online casinos, which gives you a chance to learn the complex bets.

Live dealer casinos in Pennsylvania

In other states, live dealer table games have become the go-to for many players and soon, they’ll be available in PA. With these, you’ll bet online although the action will be dealt in real-time from studios in PA live casinos. Bets will settle automatically.

Games available include blackjack (where you play on a seven-handed table), roulette, three-card poker, Casino Hold ’em, and baccarat.

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Keep in mind, you need to act before the timer runs down in these games. Otherwise, your hand will be folded (or you’ll stand), depending on the game.

You can chat via text with the dealers and other players while you play. The added social element, plus the ability to watch the cards being dealt, make these increasingly popular games.

Video poker and novelty games

PA casinos allow you to play video poker games online. These include bonus poker and multi-hand variations, as well as traditional titles.

Pennsylvania online casino apps

There are pros and cons to online casino apps compared to mobile-friendly websites.

With apps, you often find only a limited number of game titles, along with account and cashier functionality. Compared to the hundreds of games you can play on your browser, this is a significant drawback.

On the positive side, having the graphics stored on your phone helps the games initialize faster. If you have ever had to wait for a bonus game to load on your mobile device after you hit it on a slot, you know how frustrating this can be.

Are the online casinos in Pennsylvania safe?

All online casinos in PA are licensed and under the jurisdiction of the PennsylvaniaGaming Control Board (PGCB).

Players are protected by know your customer (KYC) guidelines and responsible gaming laws. The games are tested for integrity and fairness. A complaint and dispute process is available if necessary.

When it comes to Pennsylvania online casinos, you really can’t get any safer.

The PGCB stated early in the licensing process that they have a deliberate, slow approach. This includes testing periods for new apps and websites. With the licenses for online casinos in Pennsylvania held by local live casinos and racetrack casinos, you’ll have trusted brand names behind each of the apps.

A major concern for players new to casino games is the fairness of the spins or deals. At regulated casinos, games are regularly audited and the expected return-to-player (RTP) percentages are published. While each game has a small edge in favor of the house, you can be sure that you are getting a fair shot at winning and it’s in line with the published figures.

Casino bonus offers in Pennsylvania

With a lot of real money online casinos opening in PA in quick succession, you can be sure they will be competing to attract new players.

This means 2021 is a perfect time to take advantage of their marketing budgets. Casino bonuses take four primary forms, and not every casino will offer them all. If not, the bonuses they do offer will need to be generous.

Here are the main types of casino bonuses:

• No-deposit welcome bonus: A popular way to attract new players is to offer free play for registering. This bonus is usually a small amount (between $10 and $25). You’ll need to wager it a number of times before you can withdraw it. These offers can start your casino bankroll, if you get lucky. If not, then you’ll have a chance to check out the real-money slot titles without any personal risk.
• Matched deposit bonuses: This is the most common form of a casino welcome bonus in PA. Your first deposit will be matched 100%, usually up to around $300, though sometimes much higher. You then get 30 to 60 days to meet the specified playthrough (wagering) requirements.
• Loyalty/comp point schemes: Some casinos will tie their online comp point schemes together with their live casino. Others have separate schemes, with complex tier systems unlocking progressively bigger bonuses. For high rollers, these loyalty schemes often have a VIP level, too.
• One-off promotions: How active a casino is with promos can make a big difference to your bankroll over time. These vary widely, and include double points deals, reload bonuses, promos linked to new games and free chips for sharing on social media.

While nothing is stopping you from taking up several casino bonuses, keep in mind that these are restricted to one per household for each casino. Many players have been tempted to sign up their entire family for a free-play offer only to find their accounts to be closed down quickly.

Licensed and legal PA casinos vs. offshore casinos

For many years, the only way to play online casino games in Pennsylvania was to risk your money at offshore casinos. While there were some limited legal options with sweepstakescasinos, the new legal PA internet casinos effectively remove the need to take this risk.

Offshore casinos are usually based in the Caribbean or Central America and their legal status is uncertain. While their host nation licenses them, they are not recognized or licensed by any US authority and our banks are legally obliged to block payments to them.

A greater concern is the lack of oversight and controls. Many offshore casinos have disappeared over the years, and many players have faced significant issues getting their winnings paid. If you have a dispute with an offshore casino, there is no industry body or organization to help you.

With PA casinos under the watchfuleye of the PGCB, they are licensed to accept conventional payment methods and thoroughly tested. There is no longer any reason to risk playing at an offshore site.

Geolocation and PA casinos

You will be able to access the PA online casinos fromanywhere. However, playing games for real money and making deposits can only be made within PA state lines.

Pennsylvania casinos will not allow real-money play if there is any doubt about your location. In New Jersey, this led to a lot of “falsenegatives.” Players who were on mobile devices near state borders were sometimes flagged as being outside of the state.

Fortunately, those initial problems were ironed out and geolocation technology is more reliable.

If you are using a VPN or proxyserver, you might still experience issues. Mobile users on 4G and close to the state border who experience problems can download additionalgeolocationsoftware in some cases.

Wi-Fi data is difficult to fake, and if you are not using a VPN, desktop players are unlikely to experience geolocation issues.

PA casinos eligible to offer online gambling in Pennsylvania

In total, there are 12 licensed casinos that can legally offer online casino games, including slots and blackjack.

• Harrah’s Philadelphia
• Hollywood Casino
• Meadows Casino
• Mohegan Sun Pocono
• Mount Airy Casino Resort
• Nemacolin Woodlands Resort
• Parx Casino
• Presque Isle Downs
• Rivers Casino Pittsburgh
• Rivers Casino Philadelphia (formerly SugarHouse Casino)
• Wind Creek Casino Resort (formerly Sands Bethlehem)
• Valley Forge Resort Casino

In the first month of 2020, FanDuel Casino, BetAmerica, and BetRivers Casino launched just before the Super Bowl. The long-awaited Caesars Online Casino in partnership with Harrah’s Philadelphia followed in April.

Rivers Philadelphia (Formerly SugarHouse Casino) was the first brick-and-mortar casino to offer two different online casino skins under its casino license: PlaySugarHouse and BetRivers. The latter is integrated with the Rivers Pittsburgh online sportsbook that carries the same BetRivers name. Rivers Casino Pittsburgh did not obtain an online casino license.

On May 1, 2020, DraftKings Online Casino went live, becoming the second interactive gaming site under the Hollywood Casino license. Meadows, DraftKings’ land-based partner for online sports betting, does not hold an online casino license. But both Meadows and Hollywood are owned by Penn National Gaming, which has a market-access deal with DraftKings.

FanDuel and DraftKings originally launched online casinos that were integrated with their sportsbooks. Now, both have stand-alone online casino apps live in PA.

In late July 2020, Wind Creek Bethlehem dove into the online betting scene, launching the Wind Creek online casino through a partnership with Pala Interactive.

Live Pennsylvania casinos

There are currently 12 licensed gambling properties in the state of Pennsylvania, with another casino in the works in Philadelphia’s Stadium Park.

According to PGCB, this includes 10 stand-alone and racetrack casinos and two smaller resort casinos. The former two are Category 1 and 2 casinos, while the latter falls into Category 3. These gaming establishments employ approximately 18,000 people and generate close to $1.4 billion in tax revenue annually.

Mini-casinos: The next phase of Pennsylvania casino development

As part of its gambling expansion law passed in October 2017, the state had the ability to issue up to tenCategory 4 licenses. These licenses allow for mini-casinos with 300-750 slots. A supplemental license costing $2.5 million allows these satellite casino properties to offer up to 30 table games as well.

The process for the issuance of mini-casino licensing involves a series of auctions. The preliminary auctions began in January 2018 and were limited only to the licensed Category 1 and 2 casinos. The first license went to Penn National, who spent $50.1 million to secure a location 50 miles south of its existing Hollywood Casino. During the first round of auctions, PGCB awarded five licenses.

The PGCB ran a second round of auctions on Sept. 3, 2019 but there were no bidders this time around. As a result, the five remaining licenses will go unclaimed. In all, $114 million in license fees were raised.

Pennsylvania problem gambling support

A system for self-exclusion for problemgamblers is available at live casinos in Pennsylvania.

This program involves filling out some forms, providing a photo ID, and voluntarily requesting one-year, five-year or lifetime exclusion.

A list of excluded people is distributed to all live casinos. Then it is the casinos’ responsibility is to prevent those people from entering gaming areas.

Removal from this list (for the shorter periods) does not happen automatically. After the period expires, individuals must request their removal personally.

Online gambling prevents new challenges when it comes to the management of problem gambling. For the majority to enjoy safe gambling online, support systems need to be in place for players who experience issues.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Commission manages this support program.

Here is what legal Pennsylvania online casinos must provide:

• A prominentlink to their responsible gambling information page.
• Tools for time-out, self-exclusion and betting limits.
• A list of questions to assess whether you or someone you know has a gambling problem.
• Links to support organizations and therapists.

Support programs in the state include:

Overview of Pennsylvania’s casino industry

The Pennsylvania casino industry is relatively young. Casinos only became legal in 2004. Yet, in the dozen or so years in existence, the industry quickly became a powerhouse. Now it is the second-largest commercial casino industry in the country judging by gross revenue, trailing only Nevada.

Thanks to steep tax rates, Pennsylvania casinos actually generate more tax revenue for the state than Nevada does. That number has gotten even bigger thanks to the gambling expansion law passed in the fall of 2017.

Here is a look at the history of the Pennsylvania casino industry, starting with the latest news and moving back towards the casino industry’s more humble beginnings:

The year began on a high, but that soon changed as the spread of COVID-19 led to the shuttering of all retail casinos and racetracks in PA by mid-March. That meant furloughs for casino employees and falling casino stock prices.

Online sportsbooks were also hit hard, with most sports sidelined for a lengthy period of time.

On a positive note, three more online casinos joined the market before the Super Bowl. The FanDuel online casino made quite a splash, surging to highest handle and revenue earner after its first full month in February.

The long-awaited Caesars sportsbook went live on March 10 in partnership with Harrah’s Philadelphia, bringing the state’s online sports betting apps to a total of nine. The Caesars online casino followed on April 23, making it nine internet casinos too. An online poker room under the WSOP.com name is expected to follow.

On May 1, DraftKings added an online casino product to its established online sportbook. Its online casino product is under the Hollywood Casino license, while the DraftKings sportsbook partners with Penn’s other PA property, The Meadows. Both FanDuel and DraftKings later debuted standalone online casino apps in June and July, respectively.

Wind Creek launched its first online product with an online casino in late July, and Live! Casino brought PlayLive! online casino to PA in mid-August. Live! was the only casino to launch iGaming ahead of retail openings, which are to follow in 2021.

Online wagering sparked and sportsbooks blossomed.

With sportsbooks, there were just three operations at the beginning of the year, and all were retail. By the end of the year, the Keystone State had 12 retail sportsbooks.

But eight online sportsbooks were also running by year’s end, with around 84% of all sports wagering done online. Taken together, sports betting took in more than a billion bucks in 2019.

Five online casino sites went live, the first ones launching in July, though a new Wire Act opinion likely slowed that market segment at the start.

And at long last, an online poker site finally launched. On Nov. 4, FOX Bet was joined by PokerStars Casino and PokerStars PA, making poker a reality in the Keystone State.

In October 2019, SugarHouse changed its name to Rivers Casino Philadelphia, but not before launching the first PA online sportsbook in May. PlaySugarHouse sportsbook and online casino still retain the SugarHouse name.

After a summer of bickering, the state legislature drafted a new version of the gambling expansion package, which both the House and Senate passed. Gov. Tom Wolf signed it into law on Monday, Oct. 30, 2018. The new law allows for a wide range of new gambling ventures, including:

• Online casinos
• Video gambling terminals (VGTs)
• Daily fantasy sports (DFS)
• Satellite casinos
• Sports betting

It also offered a new class of license eliminating the amenity fee in place at Valley Forge and Lady Luck Nemacolin. Valley Forge paid the fee immediately after the bill became law.

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New licensing fees brought in more than $311 million for the state.

The PA Lottery launched several new games and created the online platform iLottery.

A US Supreme Court ruling allowed sports wagering to begin and nine of 12 properties immediately applied for licenses.

Total gambling revenue topped $3.4 billion.

Legislation which would legalize and regulate online gambling in Pennsylvania, and offer online gaming licenses to the state’s 12 casino properties first, was passed by the Senate. In June 2017 it was amended and passed by the House, sending it back to the Senate.

The law was approved at the end of October.

The law ushered in sportsbook wagering and video game terminals at truck stops, and a new category of “mini-casinos” was created. As part of the expansion, horse racing money from casino slot revenue was encumbered in a trust fund. The slot money was originally set aside as part of the deal which led to the 2004 approval of casinos.

Casinos set a revenue record of $3.227 billion.

Lady Luck Casino Nemacolin opened in July 2013.

Valley Forge Casino Resort opened its doors in March 2012 becoming the first Category 3 licensed casino in Pennsylvania.

After several ownership changes and failed financing plans with no construction to date, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board voted to revoke the Foxwoods Casino Philadelphia gaming license in December 2010.

SugarHouse Casino opened its first phase in Philadelphia in September 2010.

Pennsylvania passed a law in January 2010, authorizing table game operations at the state’s licensed racino, casino, and resort casino properties. The law also clarified the size and scope of gaming and other operations at the state’s three different categories of gaming licensees, including:

• Allowing up to 250 table games and 5,000 slot machines at Category 1 racino facilities
• Allowing 250 table games and 5,000 slot machines at Category 2 stand-alone casinos. These properties were also authorized to operate amenities including restaurants, spas, and entertainment options, but not hotels.
• Allowing up to 600 slot machines and 50 table games at Category 3 resort casinos. These gaming facilities can include attached hotels.

Parx Casino standalone gaming facility opened its doors in December .

Rivers Casino opened in Pittsburgh, PA’s Chateau neighborhood along the Ohio River in September.

Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem opened on the Bethlehem Works development site in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in May 2009. Table games were added in July 2010. The property officially changed ownership to the Poarch Band of Creek Indians in June 2019. The casino is now known as Wind Creek Bethlehem.

Hollywood Casino opened at Penn National racetrack in February 2008.

Mount Airy Casino Resort officially opened in the Poconos in November 2007, becoming the first Pennsylvania casino with lodging.

The Meadows Casino began as a temporary casino adjacent to the racetrack in Washington County, PA in June 2007. The permanent casino opened in 2009.

Presque Isle Downs casino and horse racing track near Erie, Pennsylvania opened in February 2007.

A slots parlor began operation at Harrah’s Philadelphia racetrack on the Chester waterfront. Table games went live at the property in 2010.

Parx Casino opened as a temporary gaming facility at the former Philadelphia Park racetrack in December 2006.

Foxwoods Casino Philadelphia is granted one of five stand-alone casino licenses for a soon-to-be-built property located along the Delaware River in South Philadelphia. The project fell apart, resulting in PGCB revoking the license in 2010.

Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs became the state’s first slot parlor after opening its doors in November 2006 at a harness track near Wilkes-Barre.

State lawmakers made a number of amendments to horse track security bill authorizing both the use of 61,000 slot machines at racetracks and other new casino locations across Pennsylvania. Lawmakers rushed the bill through the House and Senate over the Fourth of July weekend, then quickly became law before any real opposition to casino gambling had a chance to oppose it.

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The bill ultimately authorized the issue of three separate categories of slot machine licenses. These included:

• Category 1 for existing racetracks.
• Category 2 for designated tourist areas, including two in Philadelphia and one in Pittsburgh.
• Category 3 for resorts.

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Former Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell runs for Pennsylvania Governor. He wins on a campaign that includes support for the idea of allowing slot machines at racetracks in an effort to lower property taxes.

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Under Then-Governor Tom Ridge the State Legislature came close to legalizing riverboat casinos. The state’s anti-gambling movement began to grow and Gov. Ridge said he would veto any gambling bill not approved by referendum. Eventually the entire idea was scrapped.

A statewide survey found 48 percent of Pennsylvania residents supported legalized riverboat gambling and just 38 percent were opposed. However, Then-Governor Robert P. Casey claimed to be opposed to gambling and threatened to veto any gambling legislation passed in the state.

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First developed under Philadelphia Mayor Wilson Goode, and championed by mayoral successor Ed Rendell, a proposal to allow riverboat gambling in Philadelphia made it to the state legislature. The claim was it would create $25 million in new revenue for the city and 11,500 new jobs. However, the House of Representatives voted against it in November by a margin of 118-81.

Resorts Casino Hotel opened in Atlantic City, New Jersey, becoming the first legal casino in Atlantic City. Resorts and the rest of the Atlantic City Boardwalk is within 60 miles of Philadelphia. It quickly become evident that Pennsylvania residents are some of the budding Atlantic City casino industry’s best customers.