Six more casinos apply for PA online licenses
New applicants beat Mondays submission deadline, while New Jersey also consider five new sports betting licensees
Six more Pennsylvania casinos applied for online gaming licenses Monday evening, getting their submission in before the initial window closed.
Penn National, Rivers, Harrahs, Valley Forge, Sands and Sugarhouse all paid their fees and submitted their paperwork to the PGCB, joining Mount Airy, Parx and Stadium Casino as potential online operators.
The PGCB said the 9 operators had all applied for all three verticals, although The Post-Gazette quoted Eric Schippers, VP of legal and government affairs at Penn National Gaming, as saying his company had filed an application in order to have “a seat at the table” in the hopes of convincing legislators to rethink the “exorbitant” 54% tax rate on online slots.
“While we remain disappointed with the state’s exorbitantly high tax rate, we have decided to proceed with online gambling in the hope that we can continue to work to bring the tax in line with what other gaming jurisdictions around the world have instituted” Schippers said.
“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.”
There was a similar late flurry of license applications over in New Jersey, where New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE) director David Rebuck told the Associated Press the regulator had received two new applications for sports betting licences from casinos operating in New Jersey, and another three from outside companies wishing to operate mobile sports betting.
All applications were received in time for the agreed deadline, which passed on Monday evening.
Rebuck attributed the surge in applications to operators wanting to be up and running by the start of the new NFL season, which begins in September, adding: “Everybody wants to be fully functional by the end of August,”
The names of license applicants have not been disclosed, however the AP claims that Caesars Entertainment is one of the companies who have applied to offer sports betting in its Harrah’s and Bally’s casino properties, while also offering mobile betting at all three of its establishments in the state.
If successful, the three applicants would join the Borgata and Ocean Resort casinos, and Monmouth Park and the Meadowlands racetracks in being able to offer sports betting in New Jersey.