{"id":92895,"date":"2018-11-16T11:25:22","date_gmt":"2018-11-16T19:25:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=92895"},"modified":"2018-11-16T11:25:22","modified_gmt":"2018-11-16T19:25:22","slug":"hollywood-casino-takes-first-legal-sports-bets-in-pennsylvania","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/hollywood-casino-takes-first-legal-sports-bets-in-pennsylvania\/","title":{"rendered":"Hollywood Casino Takes First Legal Sports Bets in Pennsylvania During Live Test Days"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course became the first venue to take legal sports bets in Pennsylvania on Thursday, as the casino started the first of two live wagering test days designed to ensure that everything is ready to go once sports betting can officially launch.<\/p>\n

\"Hollywood
Hollywood Casino took the first legal sports bets in Pennsylvania on Thursday during a day of test wagering. (Image: John Locher\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Penn National Gaming announced that the sportsbook at the Hollywood Casino<\/a> would be taking bets starting at 3 pm Thursday, and again from 2 pm to 11 pm on Friday to make sure that both the staff and equipment being used were in compliance with state standards.<\/p>\n

Pennsylvania Joins Growing List of Sports Betting States<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The test days are necessary to ensure that the sportsbook, which is being operated by William Hill, can receive full approval from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. Once that final approval is given, sports bets will be taken from 11 am through midnight on weeknights, and from 10 am through midnight on weekends.<\/p>\n

\u201cPenn National is excited to be the first casino to offer sports wagering in Pennsylvania,\u201d Penn National CEO Timothy Wilmott said in a statement. \u201cThe enthusiasm around sports betting has been growing since the federal ban was repealed in May, and we look forward to providing our patrons with another great amenity to enjoy at Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The wagering during the test days is entirely real, with gamblers risking real money and the sportsbook paying out winning bets. That means that the bets taken on Thursday made Pennsylvania the sixth state to begin taking single-game wagers on sports this year, following Delaware, New Jersey, Mississippi, West Virginia, and New Mexico.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are extremely appreciative for the tireless effort and support of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board,\u201d Hollywood Casino general manager Dan Ihm said in a statement. \u201cThey moved heaven and earth to get us to this point and we couldn\u2019t be more excited to be Pennsylvania\u2019s first sportsbook.\u201d<\/p>\n

Operators Look Past Costs to Open Sportsbooks<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Pennsylvania appears as though it will have a vibrant sports betting market, something that wasn\u2019t a certainty just a few months ago. When state lawmakers first announced the regulations for sports wagering, operators balked at the costs, which include\u00a0a $10 million licensing fee and a 36 percent tax rate<\/a>, far higher than in other states.<\/p>\n

But even that expensive price tag didn\u2019t dissuade casinos from applying for licenses. A total of six casinos throughout the state have submitted applications, including the Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia, which filed its paperwork on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Pennsylvania could prove to be a lucrative market both because of its size and the fact that teams in all four major American professional sports leagues play in the state. That means more fans to turn into bettors, and more partnerships and sponsorship opportunities that could help the sportsbooks gain brand awareness with the public.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say both Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are very strong sports betting towns, with a lot of enthusiasts,\u201d Rush Street Gaming CEO Greg Carlin told ESPN.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course became the first venue to take legal sports bets in Pennsylvania on Thursday, as the casino started the first of two live wagering test days designed to ensure that everything is ready to go once sports betting can officially launch. Penn National Gaming announced that the sportsbook at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":92896,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,13592,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHollywood Casino Takes First Legal Sports Bets in Pennsylvania<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Hollywood Casino took the first legal sports bets in the state of Pennsylvania on Thursday, part of a two-day live test to make sure its staff and equipment complied with state regulations.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hollywood Casino Takes First Legal Sports Bets in Pennsylvania\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Hollywood Casino took the first legal sports bets in the state of Pennsylvania on Thursday, part of a two-day live test to make sure its staff and equipment complied with state regulations.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/hollywood-casino-takes-first-legal-sports-bets-in-pennsylvania\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-11-16T19:25:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Hollywood-Casino-Sports-Betting.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"732\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/hollywood-casino-takes-first-legal-sports-bets-in-pennsylvania\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/hollywood-casino-takes-first-legal-sports-bets-in-pennsylvania\/\",\"name\":\"Hollywood Casino Takes First Legal Sports Bets in Pennsylvania\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/hollywood-casino-takes-first-legal-sports-bets-in-pennsylvania\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/hollywood-casino-takes-first-legal-sports-bets-in-pennsylvania\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Hollywood-Casino-Sports-Betting.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-11-16T19:25:22+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-11-16T19:25:22+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77\"},\"description\":\"Hollywood Casino took the first legal sports bets in the state of Pennsylvania on Thursday, part of a two-day live test to make sure its staff and equipment complied with state regulations.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/hollywood-casino-takes-first-legal-sports-bets-in-pennsylvania\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/hollywood-casino-takes-first-legal-sports-bets-in-pennsylvania\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/hollywood-casino-takes-first-legal-sports-bets-in-pennsylvania\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Hollywood-Casino-Sports-Betting.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Hollywood-Casino-Sports-Betting.jpg\",\"width\":1300,\"height\":732,\"caption\":\"Hollywood Casino took the first legal sports bets in Pennsylvania on Thursday during a day of test wagering. 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