After months of delays, legal tussles, and other setbacks, the Keystone State has finally set a launch date for its highly anticipated sports betting industry. At the forefront of the race to capitalize on the state’s sports betting market is Pittsburgh-based Rivers Casino which will hopefully take its very first sports wager on December 1 – this was confirmed a little less than a week ago when the state’s gaming control board approved the casino’s sports betting license. This move was one of the things that cleared the penultimate hurdles for Rivers Casino as well as other gaming operators in the state to take bets on sporting activities.
All that remains for Rivers Casino is passing a set of regulatory tests which if it passes Pennsylvanian punters will be able to place sports bets as soon as December 1. Hopefully, everything will go well for Rivers Casino and SugarHouse Casino, which was also recently approved to offer sports betting, will usher in a new era of legal sports betting in the state after years of delays and uncertainty.
What’s Next?
The fact that sports betting in the Commonwealth is finally making some headway is more than satisfying especially considering how tedious and lengthy the process has been. While all those holdups are now a distant memory, these delays have proven one thing – final regulatory approval is not really assured but we can bet on the fact that Pennsylvanian gamblers will be able to place bets before the end of the NFL season. In fact, the NFL season could be a catalyst of sorts to the long overdue industry.
Furthermore, there is a lot of support from professional and college teams and with that, the Keystone State’s sportsbooks could rake in more than $50 million in revenue every year. This projection, like any other, can of course not be met without a proper foundation and development. Fortunately, all that is needed to spark the industry’s growth is focus on the fundamentals.
Pennsylvania can learn from the missteps of other states where sports betting has been legalized – these only prove that operators in the state need to put a strong emphasis on such thing as educating the public. In addition to this, the Rivers and SugarHouse casinos, as well as other operators, need to solidify their operational procedures in one way or the other.
As it stands, there are a few operators in the Pennsylvanian sports betting market and thus the competition is not as fierce as it is in other states. Still, the bookmakers will have to dig deeper into their pockets if they intend to match what neighboring sports books are offering in terms of promotions, free bets, and bonuses, all of which will be key in ensuring the industry takes off with the right momentum.