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Parx to Become First Pennsylvania Online Casino to Launch

For those eagerly awaiting the launch of online poker and online gambling in Pennsylvania, it appears that July 15th is indeed the launch date for iGaming in PA. According to an article on Online Poker Report, Parx Casino has confirmed that online gambling will launch in Pennsylvania on July 15th and they will be one of the casinos to launch.

This is great news or PA residents as this will make Pennsylvania the fourth US state to offer online poker and the third to offer online casino gambling. It will be interesting to see just how far online poker operations go in the state considering the still uncertain legal status of the Federal Wire Act.

Online Gambling to Launch But Not Online Poker

We are about a week away from the launch of iGaming in Pennsylvania and Parx Casino has confirmed that they will be offering a full suite of online casino games starting July 15. Parx took a unique way of announcing the launch, opting to forego the standard press release and rather to release an online ad regarding the launch.

As you may already know, online sports betting is already available through Parx Casino. It launched on June 24 and is presently the only online gambling product offered by the casino. That will change on July 15 as they are offering a full suite of online gambling products.

Per the website, Parx will offer online slots, roulette, blackjack, video poker, baccarat, craps, and Live Dealer games through their website. Rather than use mobile optimized technology, they will offer online casino apps through the Apple Store and Google Play.

While this is indeed great news for the state, one thing we don’t like is that Parx will not be launching online poker on July 15. Parx is authorized to offer online poker and is partnered with GAN to do so, but they do not include online poker on their list of available games.

After dragging its heels on getting server locations set up, Parx is going to be one of the first out the gate for PA online casinos: https://t.co/vAT2zsaveK

— Jessica Welman (@jesswelman) July 8, 2019

Will Other Casinos Launch on July 15?

It is interesting that Parx is the only casino that’s announced a July 15 launch date as it was expected that multiple casinos would launch. There are ten state casinos authorized to offer online gambling products and several are expected to launch this year.

It’s unclear as to why other states have yet to announce a date for launch, but it may simply be to separate themselves from the competition. That doesn’t mean we won’t see them launch soon, but rather that they may just choose to launch at a time where they can focus all promotional outlets on their launch rather than be lost in the shuffle.

What You Need to Know About PA iGaming

In case you haven’t been following the news surrounding online gambling regulation in PA, the state legalized online gambling and online poker in late 2017 but spent much of 2018 forging regulations and approving licenses.

As such, we are now just getting to the point of getting online gambling launched in the state. The 2017 law regulated online casino gambling, online poker, and online sports betting. To date, the only thing to launch is sports betting with Parx Casino and SugarHouse Casino being the only ones to launch online sportsbooks.
When online casino gambling and online poker launch, operators will provide services in a ring-fenced environment, meaning you can only play while physically located in Pennsylvania. This means your device must be Wi-Fi enabled. This helps the site’s geolocation technology determine your physical location.

Due to the uncertain status of the Federal Wire Act, all online gambling activities in the state will remain intrastate, meaning that the interstate online poker network is off-limits for the time being. However, if that matter is resolved in the favor of states, then that could change.

We will keep you updated on any developments regarding PA online gambling and the launch of future sites.

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