Online Casino Games Real Money Pennsylvania

When you decide to gamble at online casinos for real money you undoubtedly want to play casino games at a site you can trust. That’s why we only list casino brands that excel at customer support, aim to create a great experience for players, and have a large selection of online casino games that are fair and allow you to play free or for money.

The first state-regulated online casinos in Pennsylvania are up and running as of July 15, 2019.

1. Around-the-clock live-streaming “real money” online casino gambling — iGaming — is now available in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board said Thursday that Parx Casino in Bensalem and Penn National’s Hollywood Casino near Hershey have been approved for internet casino gaming after several days of testing.
2. That said, the PA casinos planning to launch real money poker sites in PA are all expected to provide free games as well. Free poker games can be a great way to learn the game without risking anything. Be warned, however, that few people take free games seriously, so gameplay often differs significantly from the real.

If you are 21 years or older and inside PA state lines, you can now enjoy slots, table games, and video poker from your desktop computer or mobile devices.

This page contains all the information you need to get started at Pennsylvania online casinos.

Below is a guide to the games you can play for free and for realmoney at PA online casinos. After that, you’ll find information on apps, bonuses, safety, and geolocationtechnology.

Regulated casinos also include protection for problem gamblers, which we cover at the end of this page.

Best online casinos in Pennsylvania 2020

There are now five online casinos to choose from in Pennsylvania:

• PokerStars Casino
• Parx Online Casino

There was a test period for each site with limited hours, but now they are all available 24/7.

Real money and free online casino games in Pennsylvania

You can play most games at PA casinos online for fun. Playing games in demomode, or with play-money chips, allows you to find the titles you like before you gamble.

The only category of games that are notavailable for free play is live dealer table games. You can watch them, though you will not be able to bet play-money chips.

The current offerings on real money online casinos in PA are a bit limited, to begin with. Rest assured that the casino sites will add new games as quickly as the PA Gaming Control Board (PGCB) will allow it.

We offer an overview of how diverse these casino game categories are. Keep in mind that the most prominent New Jersey online casinos offer more than 600 titles.

PA online slots

Slots are the biggest category of games for any online casino. You can expect to see over 200 games listed and you’ll need some way to sort the list of slot titles.

Firstly, casinos will feature their most popular games. You can use filters to search by, e.g., the number of reels, game developer, progressive jackpots, and so on.

If you enjoy live casino slots, then you will be able to play a lot of these online. You can search by name, or browse the listings for IGT, Bally, or another live slot studio.

Many online casinos feature classic games, e.g., Wheel of Fortune, Cleopatra, and WolfRun. You can locate traditional three-reel slots, which many of these titles will be new to Pennsylvania. Online slot studios created these, like NetEnt.

When you browse the tiled graphics for slots to enjoy, you’ll see progressivejackpots listed underneath many of them. These pools can get massive, up to $1 million or more.

Table games at PA online casinos

Tablegames are a broad category, although it mostly covers all the casino games played on the greenfelt.

While most are card-based, dice and roulette wheels also fall under table games. Live dealer games are in this category; however, we will cover them separately.

This list is for the software-based versions:

Blackjack: There are a lot of variations of basic blackjack rules. These include games with side bets, multi-hand games and entertaining variants like Blackjack Switch, Free Bet Blackjack, and Spanish 21.

Roulette: You can bet your favorite numbers or try complex betting systems with online roulette. Where available, choose the European roulette wheel because the single zero reduces the house edge.

Casino poker games: A lot of card-based table games use poker-hand rankings. Online casinos have Caribbean Stud, three-card poker, Ultimate Texas Hold ’em, Let It Ride, Pai Gow Poker, and Casino Hold ’em.

Baccarat: Two of the three bets you can place in baccarat have a very low house edge. As long as you avoid the “tie” bet, this favorite among high rollers can be entertaining.

Craps: With two betting phases and the chance to go on a hot streak as long as no 7s are rolled, craps is a lively live casino game. This appears at some online casinos, which gives you a chance to learn the complex bets.

Live dealer casinos in Pennsylvania

In other states, live dealer table games have become the go-to for many players. With these, you’ll bet online although the action will be dealt in real-time from studios in PA live casinos. Bets will settle automatically.

Games available include blackjack (where you play on a seven-handed table), roulette, three-card poker, Casino Hold ’em, and baccarat.

Keep in mind, you need to act before the timer runs down in these games. Your hand will be folded (or you’ll stand) depending on the game.

You can chat via text with the dealers and other players while you play. The added social element, plus the ability to watch the cards being dealt, make these increasingly popular games.

Video poker and novelty games

PA casinos allow you to play video poker games online. These include bonus poker and multi-hand variations, as well as traditional titles.

Pennsylvania online casino apps

There are pros and cons to online casino apps compared to mobile-friendly websites.

With apps, you often find only a limited number of game titles, along with account and cashier functionality. Compared to the hundreds of games you can play on your browser, this is a significant drawback.

On the positive side, having the graphics stored on your phone helps the games initialize faster. If you have ever had to wait for a bonus game to load on your mobile device after you hit it on a slot, you know how frustrating this can be.

Are the online casinos in Pennsylvania safe?

All online casinos in PA are licensed and under the jurisdiction of the PennsylvaniaGaming Control Board (PGCB).

Players are protected by know your customer (KYC) guidelines and responsible gaming laws. The games are tested for integrity and fairness. A complaint and dispute process is available if necessary.

When it comes to Pennsylvania online casinos, you really can’t get any safer.

The PGCB stated early in the licensing process that they have a deliberate, slow approach. This includes testing periods for new apps and websites. With the licenses for online casinos in Pennsylvania held by local live casinos and racetrack casinos, you’ll have trusted brand names behind each of the apps.

A major concern for players new to casino games is the fairness of the spins or deals. At regulated casinos, games are regularly audited and the expected return-to-player (RTP) percentages are published. While each game has a small edge in favor of the house, you can be sure that you are getting a fair shot at winning and it’s in line with the published figures.

Casino bonus offers in Pennsylvania

With a lot of online casinos opening in PA in quick succession, you can be sure they will be competing to attract new players.

This means 2020 is a perfect time to take advantage of their marketing budgets. Casino bonuses take four primary forms, and not every casino will offer them all. If not, the bonuses they do offer will need to be generous.

Here are the main types of casino bonuses:

• No-deposit welcome bonus: A popular way to attract new players is to offer free play for registering. This bonus is usually a small amount (between $10 and $25). You’ll need to wager it a number of times before you can withdraw it. These offers can start your casino bankroll, if you get lucky. If not, then you’ll have a chance to check out the real-money slot titles without any personal risk.
• Matched deposit bonuses: This is the most common form of a casino welcome bonus in PA. Your first deposit will be matched 100%, usually up to around $300, though sometimes much higher. You then get 30 to 60 days to meet the specified playthrough (wagering) requirements.
• Loyalty/comp point schemes: Some casinos will tie their online comp point schemes together with their live casino. Others have separate schemes, with complex tier systems unlocking progressively bigger bonuses. For high rollers, these loyalty schemes often have a VIP level, too.
• One-off promotions: How active a casino is with promos can make a big difference to your bankroll over time. These vary widely, and include double points deals, reload bonuses, promos linked to new games and free chips for sharing on social media.

While nothing is stopping you from taking up several casino bonuses, keep in mind that these are restricted to one per household for each casino. Many players have been tempted to sign up their entire family for a free-play offer only to find their accounts to be closed down quickly.

Licensed and legal PA casinos vs. offshore casinos

For many years, the only way to play online casino games in Pennsylvania was to risk your money at offshore casinos. While there were some limited legal options with sweepstakescasinos, the new legal PA internet casinos effectively remove the need to take this risk.

Offshore casinos are usually based in the Caribbean or Central America and their legal status is uncertain. While their host nation licenses them, they are not recognized or licensed by any US authority and our banks are legally obliged to block payments to them.

A greater concern is the lack of oversight and controls. Many offshore casinos have disappeared over the years, and many players have faced significant issues getting their winnings paid. If you have a dispute with an offshore casino, there is no industry body or organization to help you.

With PA casinos under the watchfuleye of the PGCB, they are licensed to accept conventional payment methods and thoroughly tested. There is no longer any reason to risk playing at an offshore site.

Geolocation and PA casinos

You will be able to access the PA online casinos fromanywhere. However, playing games for real money and making deposits can only be made within PA state lines.

Pennsylvania casinos will not allow real-money play if there is any doubt about your location. In New Jersey, this led to a lot of “falsenegatives.” Players who were on mobile devices near state borders were sometimes flagged as being outside of the state.

Fortunately, those initial problems were ironed out and geolocation technology is more reliable.

If you are using a VPN or proxyserver, you might still experience issues. Mobile users on 4G and close to the state border who experience problems can download additionalgeolocationsoftware in some cases.

Wi-Fi data is difficult to fake, and if you are not using a VPN, desktop players are unlikely to experience geolocation issues.

Full list of PA online casinos and potential launch dates

Online Casinos For Pennsylvania Residents

While Rivers Casino Pittsburgh did not obtain an online casino license, there will likely be a BetRivers online casino in the future. This can happen a couple of different ways. First, when SugarHouse Casino rebrands to Rivers Philadelphia, the property might change the name of the casino.

Online Casino Games Real Money Pennsylvania Free

Additionally, Rivers Pittsburgh can offer a BetRivers skin under PlaySugarHouse’s online casino license.

Similarly, the options are open for Harrah’s Philadelphia. While it is possible the casino uses the Harrah’s name for its online casino, it is also possible the property takes advantage of the better known Caesars brand and launches a Caesars Online Casino in Pennsylvania.

List of live Pennsylvania casinos

There are currently 12 casino gambling properties in the state of Pennsylvania, with another casino in the works in Philadelphia’s Stadium Park.

According to PGCB, this includes 10 stand-alone and racetrack casinos and two smaller resort casinos. The former two are Category 1 and 2 casinos, while the latter falls into Category 3. These gaming establishments employ approximately 18,000 people and generate close to $1.4 billion in tax revenue annually.

Click on any of the casinos below to learn more about that property.

Mini-casinos: The next phase of Pennsylvania casino development

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As part of its gambling expansion law passed in October 2017, the state had the ability to issue up to tenCategory 4 licenses. These licenses allow for mini-casinos with 300-750 slots. A supplemental license costing $2.5 million allows these satellite casino properties to offer up to 30 table games as well.

The process for the issuance of mini-casino licensing involves a series of auctions. The preliminary auctions began in January 2018 and are limited only to the licensed Category 1 and 2 casinos. The first license went to Penn National, who spent $50.1 million to secure a location 50 miles south of its existing Hollywood Casino. During the first round of auctions, PGCB awarded five licenses.

The next round of auctions will get underway again on Aug. 4.

Check out our dedicated mini casino tracking page to see which towns are getting satellite properties and how much each casino ponied up to get them.

Pennsylvania problem gambling support

A system for self-exclusion for problemgamblers is available at live casinos in Pennsylvania.

This program involves filling out some forms, providing a photo ID, and voluntarily requesting one-year, five-year or lifetime exclusion.

A list of excluded people is distributed to all live casinos. Then it is the casinos’ responsibility is to prevent those people from entering gaming areas.

Removal from this list (for the shorter periods) does not happen automatically. After the period expires, individuals must request their removal personally.

Online gambling prevents new challenges when it comes to the management of problem gambling. For the majority to enjoy safe gambling online, support systems need to be in place for players who experience issues.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Commission manages this support program.

Here is what legal Pennsylvania online casinos must provide:

• A prominentlink to their responsible gambling information page.
• Tools for time-out, self-exclusion and betting limits.
• A list of questions to assess whether you or someone you know has a gambling problem.
• Links to support organizations and therapists.

Support programs in the state include:

Overview of Pennsylvania’s casino industry

The Pennsylvania casino industry is relatively young. Casinos only became legal in 2004. Yet, in the dozen or so years in existence, the industry quickly became a powerhouse. Now it is the second-largest commercial casino industry in the country judging by gross revenue, trailing only Nevada.

Thanks to steep tax rates, Pennsylvania casinos actually generate more tax revenue for the state than Nevada does. That number will get even bigger thanks to the gambling expansion law passed in the fall of 2017.

Here is a look at the history of the Pennsylvania casino industry, starting with the latest news and moving back towards the casino industry’s more humble beginnings:

After a summer of bickering, the state legislature drafted a new version of the gambling expansion package, which both the House and Senate passed. Gov. Tom Wolf signed it into law on Monday, Oct. 30. The new law allows for a wide range of new gambling ventures, including:

• Online casinos
• Video gambling terminals (VGTs)
• Daily fantasy sports (DFS)
• Potential for sports betting in the future

It also offered a new class of license eliminating the amenity fee in place at Valley Forge and Lady Luck Nemacolin. Valley Forge paid the fee immediately after the bill became law.

This white paper gives you an idea of the scope of the new gambling policies and what kind of revenue it should generate going forward.

Legislation which would legalize and regulate online gambling in Pennsylvania, and offer online gaming licenses to the state’s 12 casino properties first, was passed by the Senate. In June 2017 it was amended and passed by the House, sending it back to the Senate.

Lady Luck Casino Nemacolin opened in July 2013.

Valley Forge Casino Resort opened its doors in March 2012 becoming the first Category 3 licensed casino in Pennsylvania.

After several ownership changes and failed financing plans with no construction to date, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board voted to revoke the Foxwoods Casino Philadelphia gaming license in December 2010.

SugarHouse Casino opened its first phase in Philadelphia in September 2010.

Pennsylvania passed a law in January 2010, authorizing table game operations at the state’s licensed racino, casino, and resort casino properties. The law also clarified the size and scope of gaming and other operations at the state’s three different categories of gaming licensees, including:

• Allowing up to 250 table games and 5,000 slot machines at Category 1 racino facilities
• Allowing 250 table games and 5,000 slot machines at Category 2 stand-alone casinos. These properties were also authorized to operate amenities including restaurants, spas, and entertainment options, but not hotels.
• Allowing up to 600 slot machines and 50 table games at Category 3 resort casinos. These gaming facilities can include attached hotels.

Parx Casino standalone gaming facility opened its doors in December .

Rivers Casino opened in Pittsburgh, PA’s Chateau neighborhood along the Ohio River in September.

Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem opened on the Bethlehem Works development site in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in May 2009. Table games were added in July 2010. The property officially changed ownership to the Poarch Band of Creek Indians in June 2019. The casino is now known as Wind Creek Bethlehem.

Hollywood Casino opened at Penn National racetrack in February 2008.

Mount Airy Casino Resort officially opened in the Poconos in November 2007, becoming the first Pennsylvania casino with lodging.

The Meadows Casino began as a temporary casino adjacent to the racetrack in Washington County, PA in June 2007. The permanent casino opened in 2009.

Presque Isle Downs casino and horse racing track near Erie, Pennsylvania opened in February 2007.

A slots parlor began operation at Harrah’s Philadelphia racetrack on the Chester waterfront. Table games went live at the property in 2010.

Parx Casino opened as a temporary gaming facility at the former Philadelphia Park racetrack in December 2006.

Foxwoods Casino Philadelphia is granted one of five stand-alone casino licenses for a soon-to-be-built property located along the Delaware River in South Philadelphia. The project fell apart, resulting in PGCB revoking the license in 2010.

Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs became the state’s first slot parlor after opening its doors in November 2006 at a harness track near Wilkes-Barre.

State lawmakers made a number of amendments to horse track security bill authorizing both the use of 61,000 slot machines at racetracks and other new casino locations across Pennsylvania. Lawmakers rushed the bill through the House and Senate over the Fourth of July weekend, then quickly became law before any real opposition to casino gambling had a chance to oppose it.

The bill ultimately authorized the issue of three separate categories of slot machine licenses. These included:

• Category 1 for existing racetracks.
• Category 2 for designated tourist areas, including two in Philadelphia and one in Pittsburgh.
• Category 3 for resorts.

Former Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell runs for Pennsylvania Governor. He wins on a campaign that includes support for the idea of allowing slot machines at racetracks in an effort to lower property taxes.

Under Then-Governor Tom Ridge the State Legislature came close to legalizing riverboat casinos. The state’s anti-gambling movement began to grow and Gov. Ridge said he would veto any gambling bill not approved by referendum. Eventually the entire idea was scrapped.

A statewide survey found 48 percent of Pennsylvania residents supported legalized riverboat gambling and just 38 percent were opposed. However, Then-Governor Robert P. Casey claimed to be opposed to gambling and threatened to veto any gambling legislation passed in the state.

First developed under Philadelphia Mayor Wilson Goode, and championed by mayoral successor Ed Rendell, a proposal to allow riverboat gambling in Philadelphia made it to the state legislature. The claim was it would create $25 million in new revenue for the city and 11,500 new jobs. However, the House of Representatives voted against it in November by a margin of 118-81.

Resorts Casino Hotel opened in Atlantic City, New Jersey, becoming the first legal casino in Atlantic City. Resorts and the rest of the Atlantic City Boardwalk is within 60 miles of Philadelphia. It quickly become evident that Pennsylvania residents are some of the budding Atlantic City casino industry’s best customers.

Just a decade ago, nobody would have thought of Pennsylvania as one of America’s leading destinations for casino gambling. But that all changed over the course of just a few short years, as the state went through a tremendous round of gaming expansion to become the second-biggest gaming revenue producing state in the country, trailing only Nevada.

That has made the state a powerhouse in the Northeast, biting into the market once controlled almost exclusively by Atlantic City in neighboring New Jersey, a state that is now fully regulated. But with many states in the region now looking to fire back with expansion efforts of their own, Pennsylvania is looking once again at ways to expand its presence in the industry, and online gambling has been seen as one way that this could be possible.

No Online Regulation (Yet), But Plenty of Options Available

At the moment, the state government has yet to implement any form of Internet gambling legislation, though there have certainly been talks. In spite of this, there are still plenty of online casinos in Pennsylvania that cater to residents. Regulation will bring the likes of WMS, IGT and Bally banging at the doors to power state-licensed casinos. But until that time, games by Pragmatic Play, Betsoft and a handful of other providers will have to suffice.

Expansion Turns State Into Gambling Leader

Until 2005, there were no legal casinos operating in the state of Pennsylvania. But that changed when the Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs (known now as Mohegan Sun Pocono) started offering slot machines for visitors in 2006. That move made it the first venue in PA legally hosting slots, a monumental moment for the state’s gaming industry.

It would be far from the last one to be opened. Several other racinos opened, as well as a number of standalone casinos that now dot the landscape. As of the time of writing, there are 12 casinos in the state, with a 13th expected to soon open.

Many of these venues are located relatively near Philadelphia, with SugarHouse actually being hosted within the city itself (the Live! Hotel and Casino will soon join it within the city limits). Pittsburgh is also home to a standalone facility, known as the Rivers Casino. As of 2010, these facilities are also allowed to host table games, bringing a wider range of options to gamblers who visit or live in the state.

Beyond full casinos, there are also plenty of other ways to gamble throughout the Keystone State. The Pennsylvania Lottery offers not only its own games, but also participates in multistate jackpots like Powerball and Mega Millions. There is also horse racing at several tracks, as well as off-track betting at many locations.

In 2013, expansion was taken a step further by lawmakers, who decided to allow bars and clubs to offer “small games of chance” with a proper license. These could potentially include drawings and raffles, as well as pull-tab games, as long as the prizes offered fell within limits (such as a $2,000 maximum prize for any single game).

Surprisingly, however, few bars and taverns actually applied for the licenses. According to owners, the costs attached to the applications, as well as the long process, dissuaded many from doing so, and by mid-2014, less than two dozen bars had been issued licenses: far less than the 2,000 that the state had predicted. Regulators agreed to cut the fees associated with the process in order to encourage more businesses to apply, but the program still hasn’t been nearly as successful or popular as many had hoped.

Online Casinos Get a Serious Look

Despite the rapid pace of development in the state’s gaming sector, there have been some lawmakers expressing concerns that the state may be falling behind some of its neighbors, or at least need to take steps to stay ahead in the increasingly competitive market of the northeastern United States. With New York and Massachusetts set to add new resorts, Delaware and Maryland having gone through their own rounds of expansion, and New Jersey adding online gambling, it’s possible that Pennsylvania’s dominant position might not last for much longer.

Having looked at the relative success of Internet gaming for Atlantic City’s casinos, a few legislators have pushed bills in PA, though the contents of those laws has varied. Some would allow for only Internet poker, while others authorized the full range of casino games.

In November 2015, the first of these bills started to see some movement in the state legislature. State Representative John Payne pushed his legislation, HB 649, through the House Gaming Oversight Committee, which he chairs. It was the first time an Internet gaming bill had been passed through a committee in the state’s history, being approved by an 18-8 margin. The law provides not only for online gambling, but also for slot machines to be installed at airports and off-track betting facilities in the state.

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That passage provides some hope that regulated online gaming could become a reality in the state through the normal legislative process. However, it’s more likely that lawmakers could decide to include such a measure in the budget in 2016 or a later year. There is a large deficit in the budget, and gambling expansion – including on the Internet – has been floated as a possible way to bring in new revenue.

Because of these possibilities, Pennsylvania has been floated by many as the favorite to become the next state to regulate Internet gambling within its borders. While that’s still far from certain, the odds here are quite good: it is clear that the government has few qualms about expanding betting options in the state, and there aren’t the kind of factional disputes that have made progress so much harder in California. That, combined with the pending opening of a second resort in Philadelphia, make Pennsylvania a state worth keeping an eye on for gamblers in the years to come.

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