Pennsylvania to open out-of-state online gambling license derby

Pennsylvania regulators have approved two more online gambling license applications while preparing to offer the few remaining licenses to out-of-state or even international operators.

Wednesday’s meeting of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) saw two more of the state’s casinos – Penn National Gaming’s Hollywood Casino and Rush Street Gaming’s SugarHouse – win the right to operate in the state’s imminent online gambling market.

Both operators sought the right to offer online slots, table games and poker, and brought the number of approved online licensees to five, following last month’s approval of the companies behind the Parx, Harrah’s and Mount Airy casinos.

Rush Street’s presentation touted its online gambling experience, having launched PlaySugarHouse across the border in New Jersey two years ago. PNG’s pitch surprised some observers by confirming its online tech will be supplied by International Game Technology rather than Scientific Games, which currently powers PNG’s social gaming site Hollywoodcasino.com.