Pennsylvania legalized fantasy sports in 2017 as a part of the same gaming bill that authorized sports betting, online gambling, and online poker. Major fantasy sites had already been operating in Pennsylvania for years when the law was passed, but its enactment granted them official legal status and established a licensing process for operators. Overview Pennsylvania is the fourth state to officially accept legal online poker and online casinos. The Keystone State is joining New Jersey, Delaware, and Nevada in creating new opportunities for poker players and casino aficionados in 2019 and beyond.

The industry of gambling in Pennsylvania has been thriving, but this has still brought us back to the debate over the legalities of online gambling in Pennsylvania. While there are many gambling options in the state, players are continuously searching for bigger and better products, or at least safer and more convenient ones. We have looked at the options, we have looked into the laws, and we are sure that you will have many exceptional opportunities to meet your gaming needs. In the state of Pennsylvania, you will find that there are plenty of legal online gambling choices that you have at your disposal.

• Online gambling in the state of Pennsylvania is not legalized, yet there is nothing in the state gambling laws that says it is a crime. Another thing we feel we need to emphasize to Pennsylvania residents is that we are not now and never have claimed to be lawyers.
• Pennsylvania’s criminal code doesn’t mention online gambling or any related terms like “Internet” or “computer.” This leaves their Internet gambling market in a grey area-one that’s served by many offshore operators. Going further, you can access a number of online casinos, poker rooms and sportsbooks from Pennsylvania.

NFL Betting In Pennsylvania

Bettors always are finding a way to bet on different sporting events and profiting off of them. This shows that sports play a huge part in parts of wagering. The NFL is great to all states in the country but is very good to the state of Pennsylvania because of having so many more teams than most states. Having the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers in Pennsylvania only has been good to the state with both teams taking home numerouse titles. Bettors have two of the top NFL teams in their home state which only makes it easier for them to place a bet on either one even if they aren’t a fan of the Eagles or the Steelers. With a great past for both franchises, the fans here know that betting on this team has a high reward, and using a local or online sportsbooks is the two top options. Both Pittsburgh and Philly are huge football cities and fans only get more excited when they can win more on their favorite team!

Online Gambling Age For Pennsylvania Residents

Pennsylvania residents looking to gamble have a few restrictions regarding their age. If you live in Pennsylvania, you will find that your options are somewhat limited. You have to first be of the age of 18, but even then your choices are limited. Bingo, lottery, and horse racing betting are all set to 18 as the minimum age for legal participation. If you want to play games beyond this small set of options, you will have to be 21 years old. This includes partaking of sports betting online, land-based casino gaming, online casino gaming, and both land-based and online poker playing.

If you have not reached these minimum ages, you will not be able to legally and safely gamble. That said, most offshore sportsbooks and casino sites that accept PA residents only require their members to be 18 in order to wager, but it’s usually advisable to go by your state’s legal ages.

Pennsylvania Online Gambling Laws

There are currently no laws pertaining specifically to online gambling in the state of Pennsylvania, but there are references to it in the newly-passed Act 42, which the state implemented upon the federal revocation of PASPA, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992. In other words, with sports betting now legal in PA, there is room in the law to allow for both online sports betting and possibly even expanded, online gambling.

As with other states, this has caused a vacuum of confusion. If you live in Pennsylvania, the law seems to be on your side in terms of online gambling. This essentially makes it safe to gamble online, insofar as the law is concerned. However, the law makes no mention of the legality of using offshore casino sites and sportsbooks. Thus, it can be assumed that online gambling is not illegal in Pennsylvania, regardless of the service you choose to use. For more background on PA betting laws, you can read about them in-depth here.

Gambling Sites That Accept Pennsylvania Residents

There are plenty of options available for Pennsylvanians when it comes to gambling websites, and we can tell you that the list is fairly long. Casinos, poker rooms, sportsbooks, and even bingo halls can be found at hundreds of online gambling sites. Of course, most of these sites are unproven at best and scams at worst, so we have selected the few reputable sites that we prefer over all others in the industry, and we are going to share these with you so that your online betting experience is the best it can possibly be.

Bovada: Play Live Dealer Blackjack And More

Now with all other sports betting sites available to plenty of players, Bovada has an online casino that is another major option for its players to participate in a make some serious money. Blackjack games are one of many options that are given to bettors with a Bovada account. The big play though is the actual slot machines that include 21 Wilds, A Switch in Time, Atomic Age and others. This casino is filled with plenty of different betting options for its players and on top of that, there are plenty of promotions that will reward many of its players with extra funds to play within the casino. More money means more chances of winning a lot of money! So get on Bovada and start collecting your winnings. .Go To Bovada!

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Online Casinos That Accept Pennsylvania Residents

Since there has been some instability and unpleasantness – including various crimes – surrounding the casinos in Pennsylvania (with those in Philadelphia getting the lion’s share of negative press), online casinos have become a big choice for players in the state of Pennsylvania. If you are going to join these casinos, make sure you join only the most trusted casinos. We do need believe you should ever have to deal with a dishonest casino, and we can tell you that these are the best options you have available.

Is Online Gambling Legal In Palm Beach County

Note that while legal online casino gaming and sports betting is coming to land-based, in-state venues in Pennsylvania, your offshore options will often offer better odds on sports bets and lower limits on casino games, as they haven’t got the same employment, property, and regulatory overhead that PA locales have to deal with. Much of those savings are passed along to the player, and it’s always worth your while to shop lines and gambling terms between local and offshore books to guarantee you get the biggest bang for your buck.

Lucky Red Casino – The Top Pennsylvania Internet Casino!

How does a bonus of up to $4,000 on your first deposit sound? Well, Pennsylvania residents, that is exactly what you will get when you visit Lucky Red Casino. Pennsylvania online casino players can legally and safely sign up at Lucky Red and play hundreds of great slots and games. While Lucky Red doesn’t offer sports wagering options to its tens of thousands of PA customers, the poker, slots, and table games on tap are second to none.

In addition to the massive welcome bonus, Lucky Red members can get into the black by taking advantage of several different daily and weekly bonuses as well, and the site has a points-based rewards program to give their customers even more perks and prizes. Lucky Red does online casino gaming right!

Slots.lv – The Bovada Of Legal Offshore Casinos!

Bovada is by far the most popular online sportsbook in Pennsylvania, and they have leant their expertise to make Slots.lv one of the most sought-after Internet casinos in the entire industry. Slots.lv, of course, isn’t limited to just slots, although their slot machine selection and bonuses are second to none.

At Slots.lv, you can play video poker, tons of different table games (including roulette, baccarat, craps, blackjack, etc.), and enjoy all kinds of other unique, modern, and traditional gambling amusements. New PA members who sign up today can get a generous welcome bonus worth up to $5000 (redeemed across your first nine deposits), and Bitcoin/cryptocurrency users can get a bonus worth up to $2250 just for signing up! Cha-ching!

Online Sports Betting Sites That Accept Pennsylvania Residents

The legalities of online sports betting in the state of Pennsylvania is not something that you are going to have to worry about. If you decide to play with these offshore sportsbooks, know that you are not going to be limited by the law nor by the options available. Pennsylvania residents will find that there are plenty of sportsbooks out there, and we can guarantee that you will find at least one that fits your fancy.

The top online sports betting sites in PA are Bovada, SportsBetting, BetOnline, 5Dimes, BookMaker, and BetDSI. These have all been accepting Pennsylvania residents for decades, and they have more than a century of experience between them. For top-rated customer service, comprehensive betting boards filled with national and international sporting action, guaranteed payouts, and the best perks in the industry, these sites are all worthy of being added to your sports wagering repertoire.

Online Poker Sites That Accept Pennsylvania Residents

Poker players in the state of Pennsylvania will find that there are plenty of online poker rooms that allow PA residents to join and play for real money. If you decide that the land-based poker rooms in Pennsylvania are not what you want (or, more generally, simply too inconvenient to visit on a regular basis), then these live, offshore poker rooms are definitely something you will want to consider.

The best services out there for online poker are Bovada, BetOnline, SportsBetting, 5Dimes, BetDSI, and BookMaker, as all of these offer live-dealer poker and live rooms with real players to compete against. (Other casino-centric sites like Lucky Red or Slots.lv offer video poker aplenty, but for live poker, the sportsbook sites are the way to go.)

Bovada

Pennsylvania is certainly a big sports state, with teams like the Steelers, Eagles, Penguins, 76ers, and Nittany Lions. Bovada Sportsbook will field wagers on all of those plus more. Pennsylvania players can get a $250 bonus on a first deposit into Bovada, and can wager on a numer different sports.

Online Bingo Sites That Accept Pennsylvania Players

Bingo fans will find that online bingo is also an option for your gaming. Since bingo is one of the more entertaining forms of gambling online, you will want to stick to the biggest, best, most trusted online bingo halls. Bingo players will find that there are options available online, with Pennsylvania gamblers turning to the Internet almost exclusively for bingo. Most sportsbook sites offer some form of bingo or another, but for a dedicated bingo experience, the top service provider is Downtown Bingo, with 5Dimes’ bingo section being surprisingly competitive, as well.

Downtown Bingo – The Internet’s Biggest All-Bingo Website!

Downtown Bingo started out years ago as a dedicated bingo hall for online gamblers. However, it has grown over the years to include various casino table games and lottery amusements. That said, bingo is still the name of the game at Downtown Bingo (literally!), and the site offers by far the most different bingo products of any competing brand.

New PA members who sign up with Downtown Bingo today can take advantage of a generous Welcome Bonus worth up to 1500% of your initial deposit, and Downtown Bingo is the only gambling website that offers its players daily small-dollar deposit bonuses that are both generous to players and offer easy-to-meet rollover requirements. If bingo’s your game, Downtown Bingo is your Shangri-La.

Is Online Gambling Legal In Pennsylvania?

Online gambling in Pennsylvania is 100% legal. Pennsylvania state lawmakers have not seen fit to pass legislation that prohibits or restricts using the Internet in order to place wagers or play casino-style games or poker games. There are no federal laws which prevent the usage of online gambling sites, either. With no laws standing in the way, it is safe to say that Pennsylvania residents who use online gambling sites are perfectly within their legal rights.

In fact, with the elimination of PASPA, online sports betting sites – and potentially even online casino sites – will soon be approved and regulated for in-state operation, meaning that PA residents will have even more places to play in the near future.

Are Online Casinos Legal In Pennsylvania?

As one of the more popular forms of online gambling, players ask us whether or not there are legal online casinos in Pennsylvania. Though these casinos are not licensed by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, we can tell you that there is nothing we have seen that indicates that these offshore casinos are illegal. Nobody in PA has ever been cited, fined, or arrested for using offshore casinos of this kind, and you will certainly not be the first.

Whether or not PA implements local online casino operations in the future remains to be seen (though it seems quite likely), but even if they do, offshore options should still remain 100% legal and accessible for those living in Pennsylvania.

Is Online Sports Betting Legal In Pennsylvania?

If you want to bet on sports, you no longer have to travel to a neighboring state to do so. Pennsylvania has legalized sports betting inside its borders, and there is an online component in the works for the local casinos that operate these sportsbooks. However, if PA residents wish to wager online right now, there are several online sportsbooks located overseas that accept folks from the Keystone State, and they all offer robust and direct emulations of Vegas-style sports betting. Best of all, these sites are 100% legal to use for all those living in Pennsylvania.

Can I Bet On The Steelers / Eagles To Win The Super Bowl Without Going To Las Vegas?

Absolutely! What you are looking for is commonly referred to as a futures bet in the sports wagering world. This is a very popular form of betting, especially during the off-season, and now you don't need to give your buddy $50 and hope he actually puts it on the Steelers or Eagles when he goes out to Vegas next month to get in on the action. With online sportsbooks like Bovada, SportsBetting, and others, you can get updated Super Bowl odds for the Steelers or Eagles every week of the season, plus they have conference and division futures odds, too, which often offer great values.

Bovada, SportsBetting, BetOnline, 5Dimes, BetDSI, and BookMaker accept all residents in the Keystone State, so there is no need to worry about being turned away. Plus, these sites all have wager limits for every bankroll, making bettors of all financial means able to maximize their payouts. If you ever feel super confident and want to raise your limits, just contact your site’s cashier service.

Is Online Poker Legal In Pennsylvania?

While the poker rooms in Pennsylvania have grown to be fairly large, they are still lacking in a few aspects. This includes the lack of tournaments available 24 hours a day, which is one of the main reasons players turn to online poker above anything else. Online poker is completely legal in Pennsylvania, and all the top sports betting sites offer comprehensive poker rooms, daily tourneys, valuable perks and bonuses, and live dealers for the ultimate poker experience.

Online Horse Racing Betting Sites That Accept Pennsylvania Residents

Online horse racing betting sites that accept Pennsylvania residents are both legal and convenient. Pari-mutuel wagering is legal in the state, and has been for ages. Finding your way to a track every time you wish to place a bet is unrealistic, however, and this doesn’t even address the issue of betting on races that are held in different states (i.e. simulcasts).

Pennsylvania residents will find the largest selection of legal horse racing betting options at online racebooks. These sites have lines on races being held in the US as well as around the world, and they are always open to residents of the state of Pennsylvania. The best online racebooks, yet again, are actually located at the top Internet sports betting shops. This means that one account at a site like Bovada or SportsBetting will let you gamble on the ponies, enjoy countless casino games, play poker, and bet on sports.

Funding Your Online Gambling Account If You Live In Pennsylvania

If you live in Pennsylvania, you have a number of options when it comes to funding your online gambling account. Some methods, like bank wires or credit cards, might be declined under a federal banking regulation called the UIGEA (or Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, which is strictly related to the US financial industry). This law aims to prevent certain payment systems from being used to process known online gambling transactions, and sometimes it can cause your card or wire transfer to be declined. If this happens, relax. It doesn’t mean you’re in trouble, just that you might need to find a new deposit method. Here are the five best ways to fund your online gambling account if you live in Pennsylvania:

Prepaid Card – This acts identically to a credit or debit card, but doesn’t have to be processed by the bank.

Bitcoin – As its own currency, Bitcoin doesn’t fall under the UIGEA and is perfect for deposits that need to be made very quickly.

Money Order – It takes a bit longer to credit your account, but money orders are a reliable way to always fill your account.

Check – Another method that takes a little longer, checks can be made out for large amounts. Checks are very reliable, but the time they take to clear means that they are slowly falling out of favor with the online betting public.

Person To Person – This is a money transfer service that allows you to fund your account within a few hours safely and discretely. P2P transfers can be done at physical terminals or through online portals, and they are powered by known brands like MoneyGram and Western Union.

Mobile Gambling Apps In Pennsylvania

When looking or an online gambling site, one of the main things you should keep an eye out for is if they have a mobile gambling option. The last thing you want is to fall in love with a site and then realize it’ll have you chained to your computer every time you want to make a bet. The sites on this page all have corresponding mobile betting sites that allow you to do everything you would on the computer from your smartphone or tablet.

All of the industry’s top mobile sites are compatible with any operating system, so you don’t have to worry about not being able to access them. If you have an iPhone, iPad, Android phone, Android tablet, Amazon Fire device, Windows Mobile device, or even a Blackberry, you can wager via your favorite betting sites’ streamlined mobile interfaces. Anything with a modern web browser should do the trick!

Pennsylvania Gambling FAQ’s

How Do I Get Started?

Getting started is the easiest part. All you need is your name, your email address, and the ability to click submit. You’ll need to verify your account through your email, and then you’ll be set to go. Give the sites a spin before you start funding your account, or fund them right away and get straight to betting. Either way, it only takes a few moments to get started.

Can I Really Win Real Money?

Yes, you can. Winning real money is the whole point of using these sites. Once you fund your account, the money you’re playing with is as real as if you had taken cash to a casino or racetrack. Withdrawals can be requested anytime, but they are always subject to rollover requirements of at least 1X (which is the industry standard for deposits). If you accept deposit bonuses, the rollover requirements will generally jump to between 5X and 40X, depending on the aspects of the sites you’re using. These sites oftentimes host contests and tournaments as well, in order to allow you the opportunity to win extra money.

Are Online Gambling Winnings Taxable?

It is our opinion that gambling winnings are taxable and that you should always declare the full amount of the money you win online. There is no way for the IRS to track what you win, but if you are ever audited or if your finances are looked into, the penalty would most definitely be worse than if you had just paid the taxes in the first place.

Can I Bet With Bitcoin?

Betting with Bitcoin is a perfectly acceptable way to wager. Online gambling sites have recently been jumping on the bandwagon when it comes to Bitcoin, enjoying the convenience it provides its players with. Deposit limits for Bitcoin are up to $25,000 per transaction, while limits for withdrawal are up to $15,000. Betting with Bitcoin is quickly becoming a great method for casual bettors and expert high rollers alike.

How Safe Is Bitcoin For Wagering On Sports?

Bitcoin is an extremely safe banking option when it comes to wagering on sports. Online sportsbooks that accept Bitcoin will convert the funds for you, only needing your Bitcoin wallet address for the transaction to finalize. This keeps your financial information private, providing a safe option for bettors who prefer not to use credit cards or mail in a check.

Will I go to jail for online gambling in Pennsylvania?

We have never heard of an arrest over gambling online in the state of Pennsylvania. If you want to gamble online, you should not fear being arrested. The chances of being arrested for gambling online are infinitesimal, so we can assure your safety while you play. After all, it’s totally legal to wager online in Pennsylvania, so there’s nothing to arrest you for!

Pennsylvania is the most populous US state with legal, regulated online gambling in 2020.

The omnibus expansion package Gov. Tom Wolf signed into law in 2017 authorized interactive gaming across multiple verticals — including lottery, casino, fantasy sports, sports betting, and poker.

The first PA online casinos launched in July 2019, and it didn’t take long for a variety of options to become available to gamblers in the Keystone State.

Pennsylvania online casino bonuses

PA online casinos

These 12 online casinos are licensed to operate legally in Pennsylvania:

• BetAmerica Casino
• Party Casino (coming soon)
• Wind Creek Casino

Online Gambling Law In Pa

Each PA online casino features a variety of slots, table games, and video poker — with many additionally including other novelty games among their many selections.

BetAmerica

• Land-based partner: Presque Isle Downs
• Date launched: Jan. 28, 2020

Operating through a partnership with Presque Isle Downs & Casino in Erie, BetAmerica is owned by Churchill Downs Incorporated — home of the Kentucky Derby.

BetAmerica has over 50 different types of slot games, including popular titles such as Blood Suckers, Fairy Tale Legends Hansel & Gretel, Jack Hammer, Lucky Angler, Spinata Grande, and Twin $pin. Available table games include blackjack androulette.

One drawback, though: unlike other online casinos in Pennsylvania, BetAmerica has no mobile option and is only available via a web-browser.

BetRivers Casino

• Land-based partner: Rivers Pittsburgh
• Date launched: Jan. 30, 2020

Although affiliated with Rivers Casino Pittsburgh, the BetRivers online casino technically operates under Rivers Casino Philadelphia’s gaming license. The casino is essentially a skin of PlaySugarHouse, also operated by Rivers and similarly run on a platform provided by Rush Street Interactive.

BetRivers features games from several different studios, withmore than 70 different kinds of slots from which to choose. Popular titles include Cats, Double Jackpot, Guns ‘N Roses, Jimi Hendrix, Jingle Spin, Tiger 7s, White Orchid, and Wild Life.

Table and card games include blackjack, baccarat, and multiple roulette games. There is also a variety of video poker games powered by Game King.

Caesars Casino

• Land-based partner: Harrah’s Philadelphia
• Date launched: April 23, 2020

Harrah’s Philadelphia was among the last of Pennsylvania’s casinos to launch its online products. The sports half of Caesars Sportsbook & Casino launched in March 2020, with the online casino component following in April.

At launch, the casino had just 12 slots available and no other games. The launch titles were: 88 Fortunes, Bruce Lee, Mad Mad Monkey, Raging Rhino, Starmania, Zeus (and Zeus III), Celestial King, Kronos Unleashed, Spartacus: Gladiator of Rome, Monopoly: Mega Movers, and Montezuma.

The selection of games should expand soon. The app and website both follow closely the design of Caesars Casino New Jersey, which has over 300 games available. Pennsylvania players can probably expect to have a similar array of options in time.

DraftKings Casino

• Land-based partner: Meadows
• Date launched: May 1, 2020

If there was any doubt before, there is little question now that DraftKings is a full-scale gambling company. In addition to sports betting, the once-small DFS site has now pivoted all the way into online casino gambling as a newly public corporation.

DraftKings Casino made its debut in Pennsylvania in May 2020 on the back of the Meadows license, additionally relying on an alliance with Scientific Games for the platform and content.

Fox Bet Casino

• Land-based partner: Mount Airy
• Date launched: Nov. 4, 2019

Longtime online poker giant PokerStars partnered with Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mt. Pocono to launch the first online poker room in Pennsylvania in early November 2019, also launching its online casino at the same time. A great option for poker players who also like to play other casino games, everything — along with sports betting, too — is housed in one handy standalone client.

There are around 50 different choices of slots available, with Frog of Fortune, The Imperial Kitchen, Lion Storm, Turn Your Fortune, and the exclusive Stars Classic Slot among the most popular.

Unsurprisingly given the poker connection, there’s a wide range of table and card games in the PokerStars online casino. There’s blackjack, baccarat, and roulette, of course, but also many different “single hand” games like Jacks or Better, Joker Poker, Aces and Eights and more. There are multiplayer versions of these games, too, at a variety of stakes, as well as video poker.

Hollywood Casino

• Land-based partner: Hollywood Casino
• Date launched: July 15, 2019

After being the first to launch an online sportsbook in Pennsylvania, Hollywood Casino in Grantville was the technically the first to launch an online casino as well, beating Parx by a few hours.

Parent company Penn National Gaming partnered with multinational gambling company IGT to power the site which after a few small hiccups early on has become a go-to option for online casino game fans in the state.

There are more than 50 kinds of slots available, with Butterfly 2, Cash-o-Matic, Cleopatra, Da Vinci Diamonds, Double Stacks, Electric Tiger, Jumanji, and Wheel of Fortune among those featured.

Table and card games include blackjack, baccarat, and several different roulette games, plus video poker.

FanDuel Casino

• Land-based partner: Valley Forge
• Date launched: Jan. 24, 2020

Daily fantasy sports giant FanDuel jumped into the retail and online sportsbook market in a big way starting in 2018 and now has branched out to other casino games as well, starting in Pennsylvania. With Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia as its land-based partner, FanDuel has joined forces with IGT for its platform and GAN for account management.

FanDuel Casino got off to a fast start after launching a little over a week before Super Bowl LIV, using a number of promotions to hit the ground running and quickly become a leading revenue gainer among all the online casinos in the state.

The FanDuel online casino includes only a modest offering of slots, with favorites Cleopatra, Da Vinci Diamonds, Dead or Alive, Divine Fortune and others among the choices. Table games include the usual blackjack and roulette varieties.

Parx Casino

• Land-based partner: Parx
• Date launched: July 15, 2019

Parx Casino in Bensalem was one of the very first in the state to launch an online casino, partnering with industry vet GAN to provide a robust selection of casino games on its online platform from the get-go.

Like other online casinos in the state Parx offers slots, table games, and video poker, and intends to introduce live-dealer games as well. The slots selection is particularly large with around a 100 different choices, including all the Vegas classics like Atomic Meltdown, Cleopatra, Crown Egypt, DaVinci Diamonds, Pixies of the Forest, Tiger 7’s, Triple Diamond, Wheel of Fortune, Wolf Run and many more.

There are more table games at Parx than elsewhere, too, including blackjack, baccarat, several different roulette games and Jacks-or-better, as well as video poker.

PlayLive! Casino

• Land-based partner: Live! Hotel & Casino Philadelphia
• Date launched: Aug. 11, 2020

PlayLive! was the first online casino in the state to launch without an active land-based casino partner at the time. Although its owner, Cordish Companies, is an in-state licensee, its two properties in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh were still under construction when it launched its online product.

It launched with a fairly robust selection of games for a first-time operator, including a standard set of table games and video poker titles, plus nearly 100 slots. Its platform is provided by GAN.

PlaySugarHouse Casino

• Land-based partner: Rivers Philadelphia
• Date launched: July 17, 2019

Rivers Casino Philadelphia’s online casino is similar in all respects to the skin at BetRivers described above, with both run on a platforms provided by Rush Street Interactive.

Here players will find the same variety of options from several different game studios, with Dead or Alive, Divine Fortune, Double Ruby, Sparkling Roses, and Triple X Threat among the most popular slot selections. Table games (blackjack, baccarat, and roulette) and video poker are also favorites here.

Unibet Casino

• Land-based partner: Mohegan Sun Pocono
• Date launched: Nov. 13, 2019

European gaming giant Unibet partnered with Mohegan Sun Pocono in Wilkes-Barre to bring online casino games to Pennsylvania. The platform is the result of a collaboration between Unibet parent company Kindred and Scientific Games.

More than 70 different slots games are on offer, including all the favorites and popular ones like Cleopatra, Dead or Alive, Divine Fortune, Gonzo’s Quest and Siberian Storm. Among the table games there is blackjack (including an exclusive “micro stakes” version), baccarat, and a half-dozen routlette variants.

There is a jackpot game as well plus several video poker options, among them exclusive varieties of Deuces Wild and Jacks or Better.

Wind Creek Casino

• Land-based partner: Wind Creek Bethlehem
• Date launched: Aug. 5, 2020

Wind Creek launched Pennsylvania’s 11th online casino early in the state’s second year of iGaming. It took a little bit longer to get off the ground than others as a newcomer to the state, having only just acquired its land-based property in June last year. The casino’s former owner was Las Vegas Sands Corporation, controlled by SheldonAdelson, a noted opponent of online gambling. Sands sold the property to Wind Creek Hospitality, a tribal operator based in Alabama, who had no such qualms about launching an online product.

Wind Creek’s technology partner for the online casino is California-based PalaInteractive. The casino launched with 77 slots titles, 7 table games and 2 video poker titles. Wind Creek holds a poker license and Pala has a poker platform, but it remains to be seen whether they attempt to launch an online poker product.

PA online casino apps

While all Pennsylvania online casinos are available via web-based browsers on your laptop or desktop, nearly all are also accessible on mobile devices as an online casino app.

These Android and iOS (Apple) apps are free to download and in many respects feature the same functionality as the web-based versions of the online casino. They do, however, sometimes feature fewer games to choose from than their web-based counterparts.

Android users cannot download apps from the Google Play Store since it does not allow gambling apps. However they can download apps directly from the casino’s websites using their device’s browser.

Meanwhile iOS users face a different obstacle since Apple instituted a policy requiring gambling apps to be built on the native iOS (and not coded in HTML5). That forced new online casinos to build their own iOS apps.

As a result, some Pennsylvania online casinos offer iOS apps, some offer Android apps, some have both and one has neither. In some cases, such as BetRivers and FanDuel Casino, you access the online casino via the online sportsbook app.

Consult with your favorite site to see what options are currently available.

Like online casinos elsewhere, those in PA offer a wide variety of slots, table games, and video poker. Many also have plans to include “live-dealer” table games in which an actual dealer in a studio conducts the games.

Slots

If you like slots in retail casinos, you’ll discover slots in online casinos to be very similar.

They comprise by far the majority of games in PA online casinos and include many of the same favorites found in the brick-and-mortar realm. Even the games themselves are often identical, including classics like Cleopatra, Wheel of Fortune, and Wolf Run.

When playing slots online you can either search games by title or filter them in various ways, including by the studios that create the games such as IGT, NetEnt, Everi, and Konami. You can also often search by the number of reels, progressive jackpots, and in other ways that can’t so easily be done when playing live slots.

Table games

The most frequently found table games in PA online casinos are blackjack, baccarat, and roulette. Larger casinos feature multiple variants of each as well as different stakes.

Blackjack games often feature fun side bets, multi-hand games, and offer variants such as Blackjack Switch, Free Bet Blackjack, and Spanish 21.

Roulette almost always features either American or European roulette among other options.

Video poker

Video poker also greatly resembles what you find in a live casino, with the familiar Game King suite of games a popular option. There you’ll find all the favorite variants like Deuces Wild, Jacks or Better, and Double Bonus.

Live-dealer games

Live-dealer table games help make online casinos seem even more like the “real” thing. These involve playing games like blackjack, baccarat, roulette, three-card poker, casino hold’em, and other table and card games with a live dealer or croupier managing the action from a studio.

While you play you can chat via text with the dealers and other players, making the social component of the games even more comparable to what you’ll find in a retail casino.

No live-dealer games are available in Pennsylvania quite yet. State law requires that the studio be located within the state, and there is no such studio yet. However, Evolution Gaming has said it expects its new studio to open before the end of 2020. Live-dealer games should roll out quickly once that happens, as Evolution already has deals in place with some operators in the state.

Depositing at PA online casinos

Most online casinos in Pennsylvania provide a wide variety of depositing methods, typically including some or all of the following:

• ACH / eCheck
• credit cards (especially Visa and MasterCard)
• debit cards
• online banking / bank transfers
• PayPal
• Skrill
• Play+
• PayNearMe
• check
• cash at the casino cage

When it comes to withdrawals, there are typically fewer options available. These tend to include:

• ACH / eCheck
• PayPal
• check
• cash at the casino cage

Be sure to check with each online casinos to see which banking options are available. Also check with the sites to determine how long the different transactions take. Most are very fast (or even instantaneous), but some do take longer than others.

As found in online sportsbooks across the country, Pennsylvania’s online casinos all offer bonuses of various types to encourage players to sign up and continue playing. These vary depending on the online casino, though in most cases you will find the following:

Welcome bonus

In most cases, the welcome bonus comes in the form of no-risk bets that allow first-time users a way to try out the games without having to worry about losing money.

In some cases these welcome bonuses are no deposit bonuses, meaning you are simply given a small amount of money (usually from $10 to $25) with which you can play any of the available games. These bonuses cannot be withdrawn — you must wager the entire bonus — but you can keep the winnings you earn.

Other welcome bonuses are tied to making a first deposit. These matching bonuses usually match a first deposit 100% up to a certain maximum amount. Again, the bonus money cannot be withdrawn before it is wagered, and there is usually a time limit during which the bonus money must be used (e.g., 30 or 60 days).

Loyalty / rewards programs

Some online casinos offer ongoing loyalty programs that reward players with cash or “comps” according to how much they play, much like is found in brick-and-mortar casinos. Loyalty programs are more commonly found with online casinos than with online sportsbooks, and often will be linked to the retail casinos’ programs.

Other promotions

Most PA online casinos often offer ways to earn bonuses via promotions such as reload bonuses, double-points deals, referral bonuses, and more. Keep an eye out for these as they come along.

PA online casino FAQ

Below are some common questions and answers related to PA online casinos.

How many PA online gambling sites are there?

Interactive gaming permits are limited based on the number of casino licenses issued by the state. As things currently stand, that means there are 13 interactive permits available in each of these categories:

• Slots
  
• Table games
• Poker

That makes room for as many as 39 brands, but the number of licenses doesn’t necessarily equate to the number of sites. Each property can partner with multiple brands under its land-based license.

Pennsylvania operators need to be partnered with a PA casino licensee and display their brand prominently.

Who can gamble online in PA?

Broadly speaking, individuals located in the state who are 21 and over can participate. You do not have to be a resident of Pennsylvania to play.

Employees of land-based licensees and key employees of platform providers are excluded, as are individuals who are barred from land-based casinos and individuals who have elected to self-exclude.

What casino games are available online in PA?

In simple terms, online casino games and online poker games are all available. But the bill gives regulators reasonable latitude to approve a wide array of games.

Due to the unique taxation structure that penalizes slot play and favors table games and poker, some new game variants may be developed for the PA market that attempt to appeal to slot players while remaining within the definition of a table game or a poker game.

What are the tax rates for PA online gambling?

There are three distinct tax rates for online games:

• Slots: 54%
• Table games: 34%
• Poker: 16%

Tax is based on gross gaming revenue, defined as “the total of all cash or cash equivalent wagers […] minus the total of cash or cash equivalents paid out to to registered players as winnings.”

How much revenue does PA make from online gambling?

Visit this PA gambling expansion revenue page for a full breakdown from PlayPennsylvania.

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Who regulates PA online gambling?

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) oversees all aspects of the PA interactive gaming industry.

Is Online Gambling Legal In Pa

PO Box 69060
Harrisburg, PA 17106-9060

Is Online Horse Betting Legal In Pennsylvania

Phone: (717) 346-8300
Email: [email protected]