Pennsylvania sports bettors’ options are about to triple as two more casino sportsbooks plan to commence wagering on Thursday (13).
Late Wednesday afternoon, the Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh announced via its official Twitter account that its new Rivers Sportsbook would open to the public at 2pm on December 13. The ‘introductory period’ will see the book open only until midnight, and it will reopen on Friday at noon and remain open until 10pm.
The SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia will also make its sports betting debut on Thursday, with similarly limited hours and access for the first two days, as required by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) to ensure the kinks are worked out. Barring any glitches, the two casinos are expected to ramp up to their regular wagering hours on Saturday.
Both casinos are owned by Rush Street Gaming and received their sports betting license approvals from the PGCB at the end of October. Their wagering technology, which is provided by the Rush Street Interactive/Kambi partnership, received its PGCB approval at the end of November.
The two new arrivals will put an end the Pennsylvania betting monopoly that Penn National Gaming’s Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course has enjoyed since it launched its William Hill-powered sportsbook in mid-November.
The state has yet to approve any operator’s online or mobile wagering product, apparently wanting to ensure the land-based operations are proceeding apace before venturing into further uncharted territory.
Both the PGCB and Penn National have been mum on how the Hollywood sportsbook has been faring to date. The PGCB issues separate reports for its gaming verticals (slots, table games, fantasy sports) but the first sports betting report has yet to emerge. When it does, presumably in another week or so, it may offer the first glimpse of the effects of the state’s phenomenally ill-advised 36% tax on betting revenue.
