Massachusetts seeks hearing on Plainridge Park Casino’s social gaming site

Massachusetts gaming regulators want to study the social casino site of their state’s first casino licensee, even though they’re not sure if the site falls under their purview.

On Tuesday, officials at the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) invited execs at Penn National Gaming’s Plainridge Park Casino to a meeting to discuss the casino’s new free-play online casino, which is powered by Scientific Games’ Play4Fun Network.

The MGC’s interest in the HollywoodCasino.com site was sparked after the Boston Globe ran an article last week detailing concerns by problem gambling groups that the online free-play slots paid off more than Plainridge’s land-based slots, which these critics claimed was giving customers a false sense of optimism regarding their chance to win when playing with real money.

Penn National’s VP of public affairs Eric Schippers told the Globe that while the online free-play jackpots are higher, “as a percentage of spins, the winning experience is similar to the one at the casino.”