This story is breaking and will be updated accordingly
All summer, Pennsylvania sports fans have been waiting for one thing — a casino to officially apply for a sports betting license.
After months with no action, that day is finally here. Penn National Gaming, owners of Hollywood Casino and The Meadows, officially submitted the first application on Friday. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board Tweeted the news:
Gaming Control Board has received first petition to request offering sports wagering from Mountainview Thoroughbred Racing, operator of @HollywoodPenn
— PGCB (@PAGamingControl) August 17, 2018
The license cost the company $10 million. The fee is a one-time fee. If approved, Penn National can offer both live and online sports betting in the state.
William Hill, one of the largest European sports betting companies, will partner with Penn National for both brick and mortar and mobile betting.
Application follows latest update to sports betting regulations
The application comes just two days after the PGCB released the latest temporary sports betting regulations. Many casinos said they were waiting to see what the regulations look like before formally applying. It appears Penn National approved of the latest set of updates and decided to pull the trigger.
Per the new regulations, casinos must submit sports betting applications 90 days in advance of launch. That puts launch in mid-November. However, the chairman of PGCB can shorten that window, so it is possible Penn National starts taking bets earlier than that.
PGCB’s next meeting is on Sept. 12, which is the earliest they can approve Penn National’s application though, so don’t expect them to take wagers during the first few weeks of football action.
The post Penn National Officially Submits The First Pennsylvania Sports Betting Application appeared first on Play Pennsylvania.