Pennsylvania Online Gambling: The Facts

• Legal Pennsylvania online gambling options: Sports, casino, poker
• Legal gambling age: 21
• Who regulates Pennsylvania online gambling? Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB)
• Legal mobile gambling: Yes
• Do I need to be physically located in Pennsylvania to gamble? Yes
• Do I need to be a resident of Pennsylvania to gamble? No
• Sports available to wager: NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL, NCAA, MLS, and more.
• What can't I bet on? High school sports and esports.

Pennsylvania supports and promotes responsible gambling.

Pennsylvania Online Gambling

Gambling is legal in Pennsylvania, but only through a licensed and regulated operator. It is still illegal for individuals to engage in real-money poker or sports and casino wagering outside of these regulations. That applies to both offline and online gambling.

Two of the laws that are most relevant to Pennsylvania online gambling are:

• The Pennsylvania Race Horse Development and Gaming Act. This legalized table games and slot machines in the state.

• The Expanded Gaming Act. This legalized online gaming and provided for the regulation of sports betting.

That last act was passed in October 2017. It was the final stage in making the big three of gambling - sports, poker, and casino games - legal in Pennsylvania. This Act also allowed for the regulation of daily fantasy sports in the state.

The history of gambling in Pennsylvania is rich, and so we will discuss it later in relation to online casinos, sportsbooks, and poker rooms.

What are the Gambling Laws in Pennsylvania?

• All persons engaging in Pennsylvania online gambling activities must be at least 21 years old. This also applies in-person gambling, be it sports, poker or casino gaming. Bingo games and the Pennsylvania state lottery have an age requirement of 18.

• Online real-money gaming must always be conducted inside the state lines of Pennsylvania.

• The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board regulates all gambling in the state. The only exception is the state lottery.

• Pennsylvania has considerably higher tax rates for online casinos and sports betting than most other states. However, those rates and applicable taxes are for the operator to pay.

• The previous point does not mean that you don't still have to report winnings to the IRS. You do. 

• Because of the higher tax rates on casino operators, they are allowed to offer slightly lower odds on player wins.

• You will find sports bets available on college athletics taking place within the state and involving Pennsylvania schools. These bets are legal. However, it is illegal to place wagers on any high school sports taking place in Pennsylvania.

Sports Betting in Pennsylvania

The powers that be in Pennsylvania did a great job in anticipating the legalization of sports betting that is now spreading across the country. In 2015, Pennsylvania legislators began working on setting their own sports betting laws. This was a full three years before the Supreme Court overturned the law forbidding states from setting their own sports betting laws.

Legislative bill H 1627 was introduced to repeal the state's ban on sports gaming, and by 2017 it passed. The Governor had signed a new law that would legalize sports betting throughout the state, dependent of course on the federal ban also being repealed by SCOTUS.

That happened in 2018. By 2019, Pennsylvania was fully up and running with legalized online sports betting. The state got a head start thanks to the time they had saved by getting things started three years before the Supreme Court's action. Pennsylvania now takes in more sports bets than all other states except Nevada.

Online Sportsbooks in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania was quick to roll out retail sports betting but took a little time to make sure that its online and mobile offerings were up to standards. The state made every website and mobile app go through a lengthy petition period and pass a series of quality control tests before they would be approved. 

This significantly lowered problems at launch and made the customer experience that much better in the early days of operation.

Online Sports Betting Sites

The very first online sports betting site launched in May 2019, when PlaySugarHouse went live. Eight other sportsbooks have followed since that time:

• DraftKings
• FanDuel
• Unibet
• FOX Bet
• BetRivers
• Parx
• BetAmerica
• Caesars

With PlaySugarHouse as the first, that makes a total of nine legal and regulated Pennsylvania sportsbooks. At least three other retail sportsbook locations are expected to launch their own online and mobile operations at some point in the future.

It is worth noting that not all mobile sportsbooks in the state are available on iOS, and it's possible a separate locator app will be required for online access.

Types of Sports Bets Allowed in Pennsylvania

Unlike many of its neighbors, Pennsylvania does allow betting on all college sports that involve local colleges and universities and take place in the state. This means that you will always be able to place bets on Penn State football, or any NCAA tournaments based in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania online gambling laws do not permit betting on high school sports or esports. This is something of a nationwide standard. You also can't place bets on any non-sporting events, such as the Academy Awards or election results. If it's not a casino game or a sport, it's not for the Keystone State.

The types of wagers that you can place on those sporting events are also in line with the standards being set across the country. Pennsylvania online gambling sites offer the following wager types:

Moneyline

The moneyline bet is a straight win/loss bet with different odds for the favorite and the underdog.

Point Spread

Instead of odds, these bets use a point spread to separate the favorite and underdog.

Totals

Also known as an over/under bet, this is a bet on the total combined points for both teams, and you take either over or under the posted line.

Parlays

A series of small bets combined into one large bet. If each bet wins, the main bet wins big. But if just one bet loses, the entire parlay is lost.

Round Robin

Similar to a parlay in that it combines several possible outcomes, a Round Robins pay out on each winning combination as well as the entire bet.

Teasers

With teaser bets, players can change the point spreads by taking smaller payouts. These are most commonly used on football bets.

Prop Bets

Proposition bets are bets that take place inside regular gameplay. They can involve team props, like the first team to score, or individual props, such as which quarterback will finish with the most passing yards.

Futures Bets

These are bets on events that have yet to happen. For example, betting on the winner of next year's Super Bowl or NCAA Tournament.

Live Betting

Also called in-play betting, live betting allows you to place bets on sporting events that are already in progress. There are quarter and halftime bets, buyout options, and the odds and points spreads are constantly changing as the game itself changes.

Casinos in Pennsylvania

The first serious effort to make casino gambling legal in Pennsylvania came in the early 1980s. That was when the resorts in the Poconos began thinking of ways to stimulate business. Unfortunately, a prevalent stereotype at that time, of casinos equalling a rise in organized crime, killed the idea.

Legalized gambling advocates tried again in the early 1990s, this time targeting riverboats. But again, the public's fears about crime sunk the proposal and killed all legalization momentum. Advocates tried to revive the momentum in 1999, but without success.

Finally, the perseverance of the legalization effort began to have its successes:

• The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board was established in 2004, legalizing casinos and racetracks. One year after going live, there were seven casinos operating slot machines in the state.

• In 2010 those casinos were able to add table games to their offerings.

• In 2017 mini-casinos were legalized. These were also called satellite casinos, and licenses were sold for five of them.

• Finally, online casinos were added to the mix in 2019, with SugarHouse Casino, Hollywood Casino, and Parx Casino all launching in July of that year. 

Nearly 40 years after the effort to bring legalized gambling to Pennsylvania first began, the job was completed.

Online Casinos in Pennsylvania

It has never been cheap to own an online casino in Pennsylvania. Each application for a full license cost $10 million. This covered poker, table games, and slot machines. There were also single product licenses - for poker, table games, or slots - at $4 million per offering.

In addition, the tax rates in Pennsylvania are considerably higher than in the neighboring state of New Jersey.

Pessimists thought that these high prices and tax rates would keep operators away. Luckily for the customers in the state, they were wrong.

Online Casino Sites and Apps

Since July 2019, the following online and mobile casinos have opened and are operating in Pennsylvania.

There are some other licenses that have been sold but not yet launched, so the overall number of online casinos operating in Pennsylvania still has plenty of room to grow. No matter what your tastes are, there is undoubtedly an online casino in the Keystone State that you will enjoy.

Types of Casino Gaming in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania customers have a wide variety of casino game options to choose from. At online casinos in Pennsylvania, you can play:

• Slot Machines
• Blackjack
• Roulette
• Baccarat
• Craps
• Pai Gow
• Three Card Poker
• Let It Ride
• Video Poker

Most Pennsylvania online casinos offer variations of Blackjack, including Spanish 21. Roulette offerings include American and European varieties. Video Poker options include the Game King suite of games, including Deuces Wild, Double Poker, and Jacks or Better.

As the industry continues to grow, so will the range of available games.

Online Poker in Pennsylvania

There are seven license holders that can legally offer online poker in Pennsylvania, but so far, only Mount Airy Casino - through its partnership with PokerStars - has taken advantage of that license.

This means that the options for live online poker in Pennsylvania are currently limited to a single operator - PokerStars.

WSOP.com is the next most likely poker operator to open up operations in the state, with its land-based partner being Harrah's Philadelphia.

Setting Up a Pennsylvania Gambling Account

Whether you are looking to join an online casino or a mobile sportsbook, setting up a new account for online gambling in Pennsylvania is quick, easy, and secure.

The basic information that you will need to provide is:

• Full name
• Home address
• Email address
• Date of birth
• Mobile phone number
• Social Security number (this may just be the last four digits)
• Unique username (you will select this at the time of registration)
• Password (each site will have different requirements)

As you set up your account, you will also be given a variety of security options. These are likely to include security questions that you can use to recover a forgotten password.

You may also be able to set up two-factor authentication. This will send a PIN to your mobile each time you attempt to log in to your account. Enter the PIN and the venue will know that the login is genuine.

Pennsylvania Account Deposits and Withdrawals

Each of the gambling entities in Pennsylvania will have its own specific options available for deposits and withdrawals. But generally speaking, these will be your main choices when putting funds into your account.

• Online bill pay
• Paypal
• Credit and debit card
• eCheck
• Prepaid card (offered by specific casinos)
• PayNearMe (found in Pennsylvania 7-Eleven stores)
• Neteller
• Cash at the retail casino cage

A couple of things to note:

The fastest and most secure way to make your deposits is via Online bill pay. This is the method preferred by online casinos and sportsbooks. You are the only person who ever sees an account number or has access to the attached account, helping to reduce the chances for fraud.

Some credit card companies treat payments to a gambling business like a cash advance, so you may be charged an extra fee. Always double-check with your credit card company before making a deposit. This will also help avoid a possible hold on the card and a flag for suspicious activity.

All sportsbooks and online casinos in Pennsylvania are connected to land-based casinos. You therefore also have the option of going directly to the casino and funding your online account with a cash payment.

Withdrawal options are usually a reversal of your method of deposit. If this isn't possible, withdrawals will be sent by eCheck or personal check. The latter will take longer for processing.