DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa.– The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board today announced that it has received nine petitions from casino license holders requesting approval to conduct Interactive Gaming (iGaming) in the Commonwealth.
All of the petitions received are requesting approval to conduct:
· Non-Peer-to-Peer interactive games which simulates slot machines;
· Non-Peer-to-Peer interactive games which simulates table games; and,
· Peer-to-Peer interactive games which simulates poker.
Petitions were received from the following casino license holders:
· Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment, Inc., operator of the Parx Casino (received July 12, 2018)
· Stadium Casino, LLC, licensed to operate the unopened Live! Hotel and Casino Philadelphia (received July 13, 2018)
· Mount Airy #1, LLC, operator of Mount Airy Casino Resort (received July 13, 2018)
· Sands Bethworks Gaming, LLC, operator of the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem (received July 16, 2018)
· Mountainview Thoroughbred Racing Association, LLC, operator of Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course (received July 16, 2018)
· Valley Forge Convention Center Partners, LP, operator of Valley Forge Casino Resort (received July 16, 2018)
· Chester Downs and Marina, LLC, operator of Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino & Racetrack (received July 16, 2018)
· Holdings Acquisition Co., LP, operator of the Rivers Casino (received July 16, 2018)
· Sugarhouse HSP Gaming, LP, operator of SugarHouse Casino (received July 16, 2018)
By submitting the petitions by Monday, July 16, 2018, these casino license holders can obtain approval to conduct all three of the categories of interactive games for an authorization fee of $10 million. Until August 14, 2018, casino license holders can still petition the Board to conduct all three or some of the categories of interactive games for an authorization fee of $4 million for each.
Should interactive gaming certificates remain after the 120-day period, the Board may set a time for when it would begin accepting petitions from qualified gaming entities to conduct interactive games in all or some of the categories.
Per Act 42 of 2017, the Board must approve or deny a petition for interactive gaming within 90 days of determining the petition is complete.
The fee appropriate to the category or categories of games to be operated is due no later than 60 days after the Board gives approval to a petition to operate iGaming.
Penn National offered this statement regarding the application to operate casino-style gambling online in Pennsylvania:
“While we remain disappointed with the state’s exorbitantly high tax rate, we have decided to proceed with the hope that we can continue to work to bring the tax in line with what other gaming jurisdictions around the world have instituted. Simply put, we’ve chosen to have a seat at the table in which we can share with the state our results and continue to educate them on why a competitive tax rate is ultimately a win-win for the state and the operator.”
