Bally’s iGaming Applications in Pennsylvania Approved, State Issues $60K in Online Fines
Posted on: March 23, 2023, 11:41h.
Last updated on: March 23, 2023, 12:21h.
Bally’s doesn’t own or operate a brick-and-mortar casino in Pennsylvania. But state gaming regulators on Wednesday nonetheless signed off on the Rhode Island-based gaming operator’s applications to run online casino games in the commonwealth.
Pennsylvania is home to 17 land-based casinos. In December, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) announced it would open up its iGaming market to gaming entities that don’t have a physical footprint in the state.
Bally’s is planning to build a Category 4 casino in State College near Penn State University. In anticipation of that happening, Bally’s decided to seek online gaming privileges while its legal case for State College continues to play out.
The PGCB said late last year that it has 12 iGaming licenses available for purchase. Three of the permits are for online slots, three are for house-banked tabled games, and six concessions are for interactive poker. Each vertical comes with a $4 million licensing fee.
During the PGCB’s monthly meeting, state gaming regulators voted in favor of approving Bally’s bid for online slots and house-banked table games. With the state’s blessing, Bally’s must pay the state $8 million for the online privileges.
Bally’s didn’t specify a timeline as to when the company might debut its internet casino operations.
Bally’s, state officials revealed, has been the only buyer for the PGCB’s iGaming opportunities since the bidding opened at the end of 2022. Pennsylvania’s brick-and-mortar gaming licensees had to pay only $1 million for the three online gaming verticals.
State College Latest
The PGCB in January unanimously approved Bally’s Category 4 casino application. The company wants to transform the former Macy’s department store at the Nittany Mall into a casino with up to 750 slot machines, 30 table games, and a sportsbook.
The Cordish Companies is legally contesting the Bally’s project because the company didn’t qualify to compete for a Category 4 license. The mini-casinos were originally reserved for slot licensees, but after interest waned, the PGCB opened up the bidding to key investors in those slot concessions.
Pennsylvania businessman Ira Lubert, who holds a 3% ownership position in Rivers Casino Pittsburgh, subsequently won the PGCB’s Category 4 auction round held in September 2020.
Cordish, outbid by Lubert’s $10 million offer, claims the businessman orchestrated an illicit bidding scheme with outside investors who weren’t supposedly allowed to bid under PGCB rules. Soon after tendering his $10 million bid, Lubert announced he partnered with Bally’s on the $123 million Nittany Mall casino project.
Cordish is appealing the PGCB’s decision to issue Bally’s a Category 4 license. The case could drag on for months, if not years, which could be why Bally’s is moving forward with iGaming in the interim at a significantly higher cost than it would need to pay as a land-based applicant.
Online Regulatory Infractions
The PGCB on Wednesday also signed off on $60K in fines related to iGaming.
Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course was fined $45K for allowing five individuals enrolled in the state’s iGaming Self-Exclusion program to gamble online with its iGaming partner. Regulators said the individuals were wrongly granted access to Penn Entertainment’s online Barstool Sportsbook.
Mohegan Pennsylvania and its iGaming partner, Unibet, were fined $7,500 for failing to properly suspend an iGaming account for an individual who had initiated a 90-day “cooling off” period.
And finally, Evolution, a business-to-business third-party iGaming provider that supplies remote live dealers for online table games, was fined $7,500 for not properly registering a new employee with the PGCB.
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Last Comments ( 2 )
Thank you for this informative article, Devin! I have heard elsewhere that Bally's iGaming license grants them the right to run online casino games, but that they would still need to have (or partner with) a brick-and-mortar casino in the state to be eligible to offer online sports betting in Pennsylvania. Do you know if this is actually the case?
As incoming Bally's Corporation CEO Robeson Reeves prepares to take the helm at Bally's on March 31, he should focus on these facts: 1) The residents of central Pennsylvania strongly oppose the brick-and-mortar casino that Bally's hopes to build at the dying Nittany Mall near Penn State University. 2) The Bally's business decision to choose a failed shopping mall's former Macy's department store location was a decision that will doom any chance for success that Bally's had hoped for. Who at Bally's chose that decaying mall with no anchor stores as an ideal site for Bally's first brick-and-mortar casino in Pennsylvania? 3) The Pennsylvania Supreme Court will most likely deliberate for two more years before approving or denying the proposed Bally's casino in State College. Even if approved, remodeling that former Macy's store into a casino will take at least 12 months. If Bally's anticipates a ribbon-cutting ceremony prior to 2026, they should take another look at the calendar. Bally's decision-makers should focus on achieving future success at their $1.7B flagship casino and hotel resort planned for Chicago. The wisest move now would be to reevaluate their unwise business decision to bring their bound-to-fail casino project to State College. Mr. Reeves is already aware of all of the above. Let's hope he starts off as CEO smartly by canceling the unwise plans to bring future embarrassment to his team.