FanDuel Gets Sports Betting License in Pennsylvania

The journey of Pennsylvania from a non-gambling state to a sprawling gambling and sports betting market is quite a remarkable one. Despite the numerous regulatory hurdles, the state has emerged as a major sports betting destination today, attracting some of the most prominent players from the fraternity.

December 2018 saw Pennsylvania handling about $16 million in bets, despite a tax rate of 36 percent—becoming the highest of any American state. But the most remarkable step taken by the state is the issuance of a sports betting license to FanDuel, an emerging online sports betting operator.

FanDuel’s entry into Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board held its meeting in Harrisburg as scheduled and gave Betfair Interactive US LLC, the parent company of FanDuel, a conditional sports wagering operator license. This gives the gaming operator a green light to begin business in the keystone state.

FanDuel entered into a partnership with Boyd Gaming’s Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Both brick-and-mortar and online sports betting books are covered under the purview of the partnership. Located about 20 miles from downtown Philadelphia, the area is already home to four retail sportsbooks.

It was only in December 2018 that Valley Forge got approval from sports betting, but the wait for its partner FanDuel was certainly longer. Valley Forge shelled out a whopping $10 million for the permit in mid-November, becoming the sixth casino in Pennsylvania to offer sports wagering.

When will Pennsylvania see the reality of mobile sports betting?

FanDuel sportsbook at Valley Forge is poised to open sometime in April this year, but the online product is hitting the market only in June or July. The delay in plans can be attributed to the most-recent Wire Act passed by the federal government to further regulate the realm.

In New Jersey, FanDuel runs an online and retail sportsbook with the Meadowlands Racetrack, which generated about $7 million in revenue. At the same time, the operator also provides daily fantasy sports betting product in the state.

Besides FanDuel, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board also gave a green signal to Greenwood Gaming, NetEnt Americas and GAN Plc. To start their respective sportsbooks in the state. The regulators also gave Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores the conditional approval for conducting truck stop video gambling.

However, it’s still unknown when truck stop gambling will start in Pennsylvania. We can only hope that gambling expansion laws in the state create a win-win for both gaming operators and Pennsylvanians.