PA Gaming Control Board Re-Opens Petition Period for Available iGaming Certificates

Qualified Gaming Entities can seek to offer internet-based slots machines, table games, and poker

HARRISBURG, PA (December 27, 2022) — The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (“PGCB”) announced that it will begin accepting petitions from casino operators primarily operating in jurisdictions outside of Pennsylvania, but who wish to seek approval to be Qualified Gaming Entities. A Qualified Gaming Entity has the ability to obtain one or more of the three categories of iGaming certificates that remain available in the Commonwealth and can operate online without having any ties to a Pennsylvania Casino.

The period to petition the PGCB to obtain one of the remaining certificates will begin on January 3, 2023 and run through March 3, 2023. This is the Board’s second time making iGaming certificates available to entities without a “brick and mortar” presence in Pennsylvania, the first petition period occurring in late 2018.

One entity was determined to be a Qualified Gaming Entity during the earlier petition period, but certificates have not yet been issued to it as its application remains in process.

The 12 remaining certificates, which cost $4 million each, are in the following three categories:

• three certificates for games that simulate slot machines.
• three certificates for bank table games which simulate casino table games played against the house
• six certificates for non-bank table games (generally, poker)

i-gaming and the concept of Qualified Gaming Entities are the results of the Gaming Expansion Act of 2017 (Act 42-2017). Pursuant to Act 42, the Commonwealth’s 13 Category 1, 2 and 3 slot machine licensees had the first opportunity to apply for and obtain the 39 available interactive gaming certificates (13 in each of the three categories). Most i-gaming websites in the Commonwealth are operated directly by Pennsylvania’s “brick and mortar” casinos, or online operators who have entered market access agreements with those casinos. Qualified Gaming Entities can obtain access to the Pennsylvania online market without any such connections.

More information on how to petition for the available iGaming certificates is available here under the QuickLinks section of the PGCB’s website homepage.

About the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board

The Board is tasked to oversee all aspects of gambling involving 16 land-based casinos, online casino games, retail and online sports wagering, and Video Gaming Terminals (VGTs) at qualified truck stops, along with the regulation of online fantasy sports contests.

The land-based casino industry in Pennsylvania consists of six racetracks (Category 1) casinos, five stand-alone (Category 2) casinos, two resort (Category 3) casinos and three mini-casinos (Category 4). Casino expansion will continue over the next couple of years with the openings of up to two additional Category 4 casinos. A significant job generator in the Commonwealth, casinos, and the other types of Board-regulated gaming generated over $2 billion in tax revenue during the 2021/2022 State Fiscal Year.

Additional information about both the Board’s gaming regulatroy efforts and Pennsylvania’s gaming industry can be found on its website. You can also follow the agency on Twitter by choosing @PAGamingControl

SOURCE: Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.