The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board unanimously approved sports betting petitions for Mountainview Thoroughbred Racing (Hollywood Casino) and Greenwood Gaming (Parx Casino and South Philadelphia Turf Club) at its regular meeting Wednesday morning, paving the way for sports betting to go live in the state as early as November.
Greenwood Gaming, which owns the Parx Casino and the South Philadelphia Turf Club, is targeting November to roll out sports betting at its facilities while Mountainview representatives were less specific, and aiming for a rollout later this year.
The PGCB held hearings prior to voting and, in general, things went smoothly. Both companies reviewed their history and experience in sports betting and shared plans for what their sportsbooks will look like (more below). In addition, both groups discussed their desire to roll out mobile and internet sports betting sooner than later, though neither will do so for their initial launch.
The state’s Gaming Control Board said Friday that it received two more applications from casinos for Pennsylvania sports betting licenses, bringing the total number to five. According to the PGCB, Donnelly Law, which represents the Sugarhouse Casino in Philadelphia and the Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh, filed petitions for licenses. Earlier this week, the Harrah’s filed a petition for a sports betting license for its facility in suburban Philadelphia.
The PGCB also confirmed that it will hold hearings and consider sports betting petitions for the Parx Casino and the Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course at its monthly meeting on Wednesday.
The next regular meeting is scheduled for Oct. 31. Whether or not any of the additional licensing petitions will be on the late October agenda has not been confirmed. The Parx Casino applied for a license for use at two locations — its Bensalem location and the Philadelphia Turf Club.
Two Pennsylvania casinos are poised to become the first to get approval for sports betting when the state’s Gaming Control Board meets on Oct. 3. The Hollywood Casino, owned by Penn National and operated by Mountainview Thoroughbred Racing LLC, and the Parx Casino, owned by Greenwood Racing, were the first to apply for sports betting licenses in Pennsylvania when they did so in August.
According to the PGCB’s Director of Communications, Doug Harbach, “it is highly likely that sports wagering petitions from both Penn National and Parx casinos will be up for consideration by the Board at its October 3rd meeting.” If the petitions are on the agenda, hearings will be held at the front end of the meeting.
Pennsylvania has 13 sports betting licenses available, one for each of the 13 casinos operating in the state. To date, 11 remain available, and the state will not auction off any that are not claimed. Pennsylvania approved sports betting nearly a year ago, but the state has not moved as swiftly as others to bring sports betting to market. The PGCB released its temporary regulations in August. The state’s legislature imposed a 36 percent tax (34 percent state and 2 percent local) on operators’ sports betting revenue and a $10 million application fee. Both are significantly higher than any other state that has legal sports betting. As examples, West Virginia has a 10 percent tax rate, New Jersey 8.5 percent and Nevada 6.75 percent.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board approved two more online gaming licenses at its regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday. PlaySugarHouse and Penn National Gaming gained approval, bringing the number of qualified entities to have purchased some sort of iGaming license to 11. The only two Pennsylvania casinos that have not purchased iGaming licenses are The Meadows and Lady Luck Nemacolin.
PlaySugarHouse, owned by Rush Street Gaming, launched an online sports betting app in New Jersey last month, and Penn National, according to PennBets.com, revealed Wednesday that is will use IGT rather than SG Digital to run its online casino in the state. Penn National partners with SG Digital in New Jersey.
Pennsylvania made sports betting legal nearly a year ago and rolled out regulations over the summer. No casinos have been approved for sports betting licenses in the state, but both Penn National and Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment have applied. It’s likely their applications will be on the gaming control board’s agenda for one of the two October meetings (Oct. 3 or Oct. 31). Those licenses come with a $10 million application fee due within 60 days of approval.
Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment, Inc. is planning to get the most bang for its 10 million bucks.
The gaming operator on Friday became the second to apply for a sports betting license in Pennsylvania, where the licensing application is $10 million. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board made the application public on Monday.
Greenwood applied for the application for use at the Parx Casino in Bensalem, as well as the Philadelphia Turf Club, as an auxiliary location. Greenwood’s application follows the Aug. 17 application submitted by Penn National for the Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course.
Greenwood Gaming Plans to Offer Land-Based, Mobile and Interactive Sports Betting in Pennsylvania, if Its Application Is Approved.
Pennsylvania has the highest licensing fee in the nation, along with a 36 percent tax rate (34 percent state, 2 percent local) for sports betting. The state legalized sports betting in the fall of 2017 and it took nearly 10 months for the first operator to apply for a license. Pennsylvania has 13 sports betting licenses available, one each for every commercial casino currently operating in the state.
In its petition, Greenwood states that it already pays the state $250 million in taxes annually from other gaming ventures and that it intends to offer land-based, mobile and interactive sports betting. The company also states that is will offer any and all sports betting allowed by the state. Who will provide integrity and risk management for Greenwood Entertainment is redacted from the public version of the application.
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The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board on Wednesday voted unanimously to pass its temporary regulations for sports betting in PA at a meeting at the Strawberry Square Complex in Harrisburg. The board also granted three interactive gaming licenses – which do not include sports betting – and approved the “change of control” request for the Presque Isle Casino from Eldorado Resorts to the Churchill Downs corporation.
What does all of this mean? The Keystone State regulators are setting the table for to-be operators to begin offering legal sports betting. As of yet the state has not received a single application for a sports betting certificate, but signs including Churchill Downs’ interest in operating in the state indicate that some may be moving in that direction.
“I don’t know if there is a specific reason no petitions have been submitted as of yet,” Director of Communications for the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board Doug Harbach told Sports Handle, “but it’s our understanding that there is interest from some of the casinos and they have publicly” stated their plan to bring legal sports betting to Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania Law Requires a $10M Application Fee for Sports Betting Licenses and a 34 Percent State Tax.
Inside the Mohegan Sun Pocono in Wilkes-Barre, PA
Pennsylvania has found itself in a bit of a bind since it legalized sports betting last fall. Lawmakers included high taxes on gross gaming revenue – 34 percent state and 2 percent local – as well as a $10 million application fee for casinos offering sports betting. Operators, casino owners and even the NFL have expressed outrage at the potential cost of doing in business in that environment. By comparison, the New Jersey law calls for a $100,000 licensure fee.
At Wednesday’s meeting, the regulations that were approved deal with what types of sports betting the will be allowed and what will be prohibited, rules regarding the testing of systems that would be used for sports wagering, and reports that licensees would be required to submit to the board. The regulations also cover integrity monitoring, organizational requirements, some consumer protection measures, as well as compulsive and problem gambling issues.
In addition on Wednesday, the board unanimously voted to grant three operators – Chester Downs, Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment and Mount Airy Casino – their interactive gaming certificates. Sports betting is not included under the interactive gaming certificates, which are for poker, slots and table games.
To clarify, the state has 39 interactive gaming certificates currently available – 13 (one for each existing casino) each for poker, slots and table games. Separate from that, casinos must apply for a specific sports betting interactive certificate.
Casinos can apply for sports wagering certificates, which would allow them to offer both an in-house sportsbook and internet based wagering, “which can be accessed by anyone when within state borders,” Harbach said. “They do not have to be in a casino in any case of internet gaming whether casino games or sports betting.”
When Internet Sports Betting Is Up and Running, Bettors in Pennsylvania Will Be Able to Place Bets From at PA Casinos From Anywhere Within the State’s Borders.
Translation? When internet sports betting up and running in Pennsylvania, if you’re sitting at home in Sewickley and want to place a bet on Penn State right now, you could log onto a Pennsylvania sports betting website, put money in your account and place a bet.
That said, it will be at least a few months until internet sports betting is even a possibility in Pennsylvania. Harbach said that as of Wednesday, no applications – in which the applicant would have to explain how deposits would be taken – for internet sports betting had been made, so the earliest the matter would be discussed is at the October Gaming Control Board Meeting.
As Pennsylvania continues to sort out how to handle sports betting, neighboring New Jersey is providing good reason to move forward faster rather than slower. The state released its July revenue numbers on Tuesday and the Garden State took in $3.8 million in gross revenue on a total handle of $40.6 million during a month when baseball – not football – is king.
The numbers translate into a roughly 9.35 percent hold, which includes futures bets, as the report does not filter out futures pending (NJ is using a cash, not accrual method of accounting). Of those numbers, the state collected $327,245 in revenue. That number would be much higher in Pennsylvania at a 34 percent tax rate.
“I think the New Jersey numbers are showing that people want to participate in sports wagering and a lot of it was going on underground and that we feel that sports wagering is going to be very lucrative in Pennsylvania,” Harbach said.
Ten months after creating a law to legalize sports betting in Pennsylvania, the state is on the cusp of having general regulations for sports betting approved. The state’s gaming control board is expected to vote on regulations Wednesday at its regular meeting.
The regulations that will be reviewed and likely voted on will include what types of sports betting the board will allow and what will be prohibited, rules regarding the testing of systems that would be used for sports wagering, as well as compulsive and problem gambling issues.
The gaming control board rolled out temporary regulations in May. Those regulations were subject to a public-comment period, during which many stakeholders criticized the state for its high tax rate – Pennsylvania has a 34 percent state tax and a 2 percent local tax – and astronomical fees – the Keystone State requires a $10 million fee to get a sports betting license. In addition, colleges based in the state asked the state to reconsider its position on allowing bettors to bet on collegiate teams – like Penn State or the University of Pittsburgh – that are based within the state.
Pennsylvania Sports Betting Regulations Set To Come, As Mount Airy Casino Is Among Three Petitioning for an Interactive Gaming License.
The gaming control board has no control over the tax rate or fees, though. Those were set by legislators last year when they passed HB 271, which legalized sports betting in the event that federal law allowed such. The Supreme Court took care of that in May. But the tax rate has made things slow going. No operator or casino has yet applied for a sports betting license, though several casinos have partnered with online gaming companies and/or are applying for interactive gaming certificates.
Other items of note on Wednesday’s agenda are the Pennsylvania casinos petitioning for interactive gaming certificates. According to the agenda, Chester Downs, Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment and Mount Airy Casino Resort are all petitioning. On Friday, The Stars Group, the parent company of PokerStars, announced it will partner with Mount Airy to offer online gaming, including sports betting and poker.
Earlier this summer, the company signed a similar agreement with Resorts Casino in New Jersey that will allow customers in-play wagering on sporting events, as well as sports content professional and college football football, basketball, baseball and a host of other sports.
“Offering internet sports wagering and gaming and partnering with The Stars Group is the obvious next step for us to continue diversifying our casino offerings,” said Mount Airy Vice President of Marketing and Gaming Operations Vincent Jordan in a press release last week. “Introducing internet gaming through The Stars Group will provide compelling opportunities for our customers, particularly our younger customers, who are ready to experience the next gaming challenge.”
The defending Super Bowl champion Eagles reported to NovaCare Complex, Philadelphia on Wednesday as the NFL season draws closer. Elsewhere, none of Pennsylvania’s eligible sportsbook properties have come to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) with an application for a license. The reason, as ever with holdouts, is a financial dispute.
The eventual rollout of Pennsylvania sports betting remains stuck in mud created by the 2017 law (HB 271) permitting sports wagering in the event that the Supreme Court eliminates the federal ban, which occurred on May 14, and has paved the way for New Jersey sports betting and legal sports betting in other neighboring states.
One lawmaker central to Keystone State gaming legislation, Rep. Robert Matzie (D-Beaver County), has remained steadfast in his position that despite the $10 million up-front sports wagering licensure fee and 36 percent tax rate on gross revenue, operators will come to play when kickoff arrives. New Castle News reported this week that Matzie believes that the potential market in Pennsylvania will be too attractive for the 13 potential sports betting licensees to pass up.
Legal Pennsylvania Sports Betting May Not Be Up and Running In Time for Football Season — As Potential Operators Remain On Sideline.
Inside Mohegan Sun Poconos in Clarks Summit, PA
Doug Harbach, director of communications for the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB), confirmed to Sports Handle this week that the board has still not received a single application.
So, Matzie’s theory will soon be put to the test. Matzie did not respond to Sports Handle’s request for comment for this story.
In a June letter in response to PGCB’s call for comments on the temporary sports betting regulations, Penn National Gaming vice president and general manager Daniel Ihm wrote:
“The $10 million license fee and 36% tax rate established in the Gaming Expansion Legislation are the highest in the world and may make it impossible for a casino operator to make any return on its investment capita. Based on the tax rate and the fact that, on average, 95 percent of sports wagers are returned to winning bettors, PNG estimates it could lose approximately 40 cents on every $100 wagered on sporting events.”
Dan Shapiro, vice president of business development of William Hill US, which is now operating three of the four sportsbooks so far opened in New Jersey, said last week: “With a 36 percent tax and a $10 million license fee, there are other states that are more interesting to us. It’s just not something we’re looking at seriously right now.”
Other potential PA sports betting operators include brands with national footprints, such as Caesars (Harrah’s Philadelphia) and Eldorado Resorts (Presque Isle Downs & Casino). Caesars has applied for licenses in both New Jersey and Mississippi.
The National Football League has agreed with the above sentiments, as indicated in their written statement to the PGCB, in which it writes that the costs may “render legal market participants unable to effectively compete with the illegal market,” and suggests lawmakers “reconsider laws and regulations that could have unintended consequences of advancing illegal sports betting.”
The Pennsylvania legislature remains open until November 30.
How Many Chickens Will Try to Get to the Other Side?
According to New Castle News, Matzie said that with the potential market in Pennsylvania, there will be too much pressure for casinos not to jump in and start offering sports betting, whether they like the tax rate or not.
But $10 million off the bat is a large hole to dig out of, never mind the 36 percent tax rate.
Compare Nevada numbers from last year where sportsbooks operated at about 190 locations, some much bigger than others and some accomplishing a higher win rate than others. In a mature market with experienced bookmakers, Nevada books collected a record win of $249 million.
For a simple example, let’s call it $200M at 100 sportsbooks. That would be on average $2 million for the year at each location in an artificially inflated example. And that’s at a 6.75% Nevada state tax rate on gross revenue. Even before quintupling that rate and without inflating the numbers (an impossibility), you’re looking at least five years before they could climb out of the initial licensure fee. (And then there’s a $250,000 renewal fee in Year 5).
And if they attempt to dig out more quickly? It’s likely Joe Consumer would get hosed with 30 cent lines or worse — lots of incentive to remain in the black market.
It seems that Matzie’s assumption is that if one potential licensee moves, they all will. Instead, why wouldn’t the casinos let one competitor go ahead let its property absorb blow, and let it the serve as the example of misguided legislation, taxes and fees?
Complete Regulations Coming.
Mt. Airy Casino in the Poconos
Harbach said that he’s not aware of conversations about the currently constituted structure between stakeholders and the legislature, outside of the letters the board has received.
“We don’t legislate, we regulate,” Harbach has said. “Our job is to put together the regulations and let the chips fall where they may.”
“I’ve said all along that the target was the start of the football season,” Matzie told New Castle. Elsewhere, he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “I think they will all participate and would be shocked if they didn’t.”
Harbach said that the state’s fleshed-out temporary regulations (as in West Virginia and New Jersey) to direct sports wagering operations are expected to come on August 15, when the board meets next. That’s one day before the second Eagles preseason game — against the New England Patriots — the Eagles’ foe and victim in Super Bowl LII, of course.
Like the Patriots in February, our bet is that Matzie is in for a surprise.
Keystone State lawmakers set the table for legal Pennsylvania sports betting last October. But even though the Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in May, Pennsylvania likely won’t be among the first wave of states to have licensees begin taking wagers, or it may trail along in the wake. It may be better to get things right than get them first, but the state’s 2017 enabling legislation created some formidable hurdles within Pennsylvania’s sports betting structure that key stakeholders have called to be revisited.
Since May 14, Delaware sports betting and New Jersey sports betting are live. Delaware began on June 5 at three state casinos/racetracks, and New Jersey began on June 14 at Monmouth Park and at the MGM-owned Borgata in Atlantic City. Mississippi casinos will start accepting legal sports bets in late July. West Virginia has just rolled out its sports betting regulations. All of West Virginia’s five casinos appear to be on track to offer sports betting as soon as the regulations go into effect. In Mississippi, at least five operators had applied for sports betting licenses as of early July and the expectation was that every casino in the state would submit an application.
Rhode Island passed a law legalizing sports betting in late June and the new law includes an explanation of how sports betting profits will be split between the state, gaming operators and the state’s two casinos, both of which will offer sports betting. The state lottery will run sports betting in the state. So, where is Pennsylvania in all of this? Going nowhere fast. Zero Potential Licensees Have Applied for a Pennsylvania Sports Betting Certificate, While Mississippi and West Virginia Have Seen Multiple Applicants.
Penn. lawmakers are at liberty to revisit their bill but so far have shown no appetite to do so.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) rolled out temporary regulations earlier this summer, but not a single operator has applied for a sports betting license. Potential gaming operators have not been shy about telling the state that it has made the prospect of doing business there all but impossible.
Pennsylvania’s law calls for a whopping $10 million application fee and a combined 36 percent taxrate (34 percent state plus 2 percent local). For comparison, that’s 100 times the initial licensure fee of $100,000 in both West Virginia and New Jersey. On the tax front, New Jersey has an 8.5 percent tax on sports wagering revenue at casinos and 13 percent for online wagering, and West Virginia will levy 10 percent on both. Nevada’s rate is 6.75 percent.
“PNG first notes that the $10 million license fee and 36% tax rate established in the Gaming Expansion Legislation are the highest in the world and may make it impossible for a casino operator to make any return on its investment capital,” Penn National Gaming vice president and general manager Daniel Ihm wrote in his company’s response to the state’s temporary regulations. “Based on the tax rate and the fact that, on average, 95 percent of sports wagers are returned to winning bettors, PNG estimates it could lose approximately 40 cents on every $100 wagered on sporting events.”
Penn National owns the Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course in Granville, Penn. The company declined to expand on its written comments.
Potential Operators Have Called the Sports Betting Landscape in Pennsylvania ‘Not Economically Feasible’ and Say They Will Lose Money.
In addition, Greenwood Entertainment, which owns the Parx Casino in Philadelphia, said that requiring a slot machine licensee to pay the $10 million fee is “not economically feasible” while the National Football League — an unlikely ally — also weighed in, saying “the statutory operator licensing fees of $10 million and 34 percent tax rate on gaming revenue may render legal market participants unable to effectively compete.”
The PGCB does not control the tax rate or application fee — that is strictly the purview of lawmakers.
“We don’t legislate, we regulate,” Doug Harbach, director of communications for the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, told Sports Handle. “Our job is to put together the regulations and let the chips fall where they may.”
The PGCB is doing just that. The temporary regulations have been open for public reply for some time, and the board’s goal was to pass the temporary regulations — which could stand for up to two years — during one of its two summer meetings, the next of which is July 18.
In addition, the PGCB on Wednesday officially began accepting applications from potential sports betting operators (for example, Paddy Power BetFair or FanDuel, which may run a sportsbook on behalf of a casino), manufacturers and suppliers of equipment or products that may be used in sports betting.
According to Pennsylvania law, there is no deadline to apply for one of the state’s 13 sports betting licenses — one each for the 12 existing casinos plus one for a new property that will be opened in Philadelphia. But it does seem curious that while operators in other states are moving briskly, things in Pennsylvania are stalled.
“When I ask internally with the people who handle in our licensing area, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of concern, it’s just a matter of timing,” said Harbach. “We haven’t approved all of the regulations yet, so I think there is some holdup on that. My understanding is that there are still some casinos that are putting together partnerships before they petition us.”
Any Unissued PA Sports Betting Licenses Will Go Unused — Only Licensed Brick-and-Mortar Casinos Can Apply.
And what happens to the licenses if all casinos don’t apply for them? According to the law, they would go unused, as the licenses are designated strictly for casinos. An operator that does not have a brick-and-mortar location cannot apply for a license.
Casino companies like Greenwood Entertainment and Penn National have been very direct about the situation in Pennsylvania. The American Gaming Association, which has members across the country, won’t comment on any state specifically, but its public stance is that states with high taxes and fees ultimately don’t make good business partners.
“States and sovereign tribal governments should focus on the customer experience and empower licensed, regulated operators to offer a competitive product that protects consumers,” the AGA said in a statement. “High tax rates hinder the legal market’s ability to compete with, and shut down, illegal sports betting operators who pay no U.S. taxes and are largely unregulated.”
That said, it is impossible to know if any of Pennsylvania’s existing casinos will bite the bullet and pay the $10 million application fee. As many have the opportunity to open sportsbooks in other, friendlier locations, it seems unlikely, though it would only take one casino making application to change the landscape.
The post Sports Betting Regulators, Officials Urge Patience– to Avoid Fumbling appeared first on SportsHandle.
Don’t rush! If there is one thing that regulators in states that have legal sports betting want to share, that’s it.
“I wouldn’t rush into this,” Delaware Lottery director Vernon Kirk said. “The world is still going to be there tomorrow. If you get started a little late, be thorough, talk to people who have experience with this and just be careful in your legislation and execution.”
On June 5, Delaware became the first state since the Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) to offer legal sports betting. Delaware had company upon the debut of New Jersey sports betting on June 14, while Mississippi, Pennsylvania and West Virginia are currently developing regulations, accepting applications and preparing with licensees to begin accepting wagers in the next few months. DE, PA and NJ Sports Betting Officials Agree: Rolling out Sports Betting Regulations Requires Patience, and States Want to Get It Right the First Time.
Delaware was particularly quick in debuting full-fledged wagering at its licensed properties, but the same facilities already were experienced in offering NFL parlay wagering in years passed, plus it had many of its rules, regulations and technology in place after attempting to offer full-fledged sports betting in 2009. One month in, things are going smoothly.
Other states may not have the luxury of past experience, or the ability to be as nimble as Delaware, the second smallest state by population in the nation.
Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo (L) with R.I. House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello.
But every state regulating body is likely feeling at least a little bit of pressure. Some lawmakers across the country have been touting sports betting as a windfall for their state budgets. In fact, Rhode Island governor Gina Raimondo earmarked $23.5 million in sports betting revenue in her latest budget. Rhode Island made sports betting legal in late June.
To help get there, the state is taking 51 percent of all sports wagering revenue — by far the largest cut in the country. The state will still need to generate an awful lot of wagering and will not be allowing mobile betting off premises, either.
New Jersey will celebrate its first month anniversary of legal sports betting on July 14, which coincides with the first day that The Meadowlands will accept sports wagers. Currently, licensed sportsbooks are operating in three locations in New Jersey.
The Garden State was the driver of Murphy v NCAA, the case that escalated to the Supreme Court and resulted in the high court ruling PASPA unconstitutional. Monmouth Park, a key driver in the lawsuit, was the first to open for business.
“We are pleased with the rollout of sports wagering in New Jersey,” said David L. Rebuck, director of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement. “While actual wagering only started in June, the Division was preparing for this possibility well in advance. My advice for other jurisdictions would be to have good communication with the industry and look to strong regulatory models such as New Jersey as you move forward.”
‘Don’t Let Your Legislators Go Crazy and Make Ridiculous Projections,’ Warned Delaware Lottery Directory Vernon Kirk.
In Pennsylvania, which passed its enabling legislation in 2017, the state gaming commission is in the process of rolling out regulations to get started. And just as in any other state, regulators know the whole endeavor is driven by money.
“We understand that the expansion of gambling in Pennsylvania is being undertaken to raise more money for the commonwealth,” said Doug Harbach, Director of Communications for the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. “We’re trying to get a potentially lucrative market up and running as soon as possible, but we want to make sure it has all of the necessary regulations to protect the public.”
Harbach’s sentiment was also echoed by Kirk in Delaware and down south, by Allen Godfrey, executive director of the Mississippi Gaming Commission.
“The one thing I would say is to tamp down expectations,” Kirk said. “We’re doing really well, but don’t let your legislators go crazy and make ridiculous projections and saddle you with unrealistic expectations.”
Said Godfrey: “The numbers out there are so out of whack, I wouldn’t want to quote them,” Godfrey said of lawmakers’ pie-in-the-sky expectations. “Anything we get will be more than we’re getting now.”
Mississippi, Pennsylvania and West Virginia Are Aiming to Take First Legal Sports Bets During or Even Before, Football Season.
In Mississippi, sports betting regulations will go into effect on July 21. The state’s gaming commission has already received at least a handful of applications from potential operators and it appears that every commercial casino in the state will offer sports betting. The gaming commission, which has been overseeing the state’s 28 casinos for more than 25 years, moved swiftly to put out its regulations.
In West Virginia, the goal, according to West Virginia Lottery general counsel Danielle Boyd, is for the Mountaineer State to accept its first sports bet by football season, but no later than Sept. 1. West Virginia has five casinos. The state will roll out regulations under “emergency status.”
The West Virginia Lottery Building.
“It’s a different animal than anything that we’ve dealt with before and so knowing that, we’ve tried to surround ourselves with the best and the brightest consultants,” Boyd told Sports Handle in June. “One of the challenges has been making sure that we have the legislative rules we need, but avoiding ones we don’t. So we’ll need some flexibility.”
“We do have ’emergency status’ until early December as far as these legislative rules are concerned. So we can change them, we can add to them if we need to until December, but after that point, they would have to go through the legislative rule making process.”
Back in Pennsylvania, Harbach says the goal is slow and steady.
Focus of PA Sports Betting Regulations Is to Protect the Public.
“We know our chief role is to protect the public,” he said. “So we’re going to make sure we have it right. We’re not rushing anything.”
Pennsylvania lawmakers made sports betting legal in 2017 pending the status of PASPA. Since the Supreme Court decision came down, state regulators have rolled out draft regulations for sports betting and opened them to public comment. Those comments — from the professional sports leagues, Penn State University, Pitt and potential gaming operators — are under review. But the comment period is an example of why regulators can’t rush — it takes time to hear from stakeholders and then open conversations based on concerns.
Harbach thinks his group, similar to Delaware, has a bit of a leg up on other states. In the recent past, the gaming commission has had to develop regulations for fantasy sports and iGaming, among other issues, making sports betting legal a sixth new set of regulations to develop, he said.
Whether it’s sports betting or iGaming, Pennsylvania regulators would rather get it right the first time.
“The potential for revenue will be there when we are ready,” Harbach said. “We’re not feeling the pressure from the legislators. They understand that we need to get it right. There are some who see it as being beneficial as being ready before the football season, but we are not [aiming] for a particular sports season.”
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