Online betting is becoming more and more popular all over the world, and some governments are pressured into legalizing online betting just because of the FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) in the market.
The coronavirus accelerated the online gambling industries which lead to change in people’s behavior. Nowadays, people are more comfortable betting from home rather than going to an actual casino.
One of the biggest issues that governments have when it comes to online gambling is limiting people to betting companies from the same country, just to stop the money from flowing out of the country or state.
As of now, most of the states in the United States have legalized betting. Some with small restrictions in terms of the allowed bookmakers, and others only offer traditional betting and don’t allow online gambling.
Is Online Betting Legal in Pennsylvania?
With that said, Pennsylvania was the seventh state to legalize sports betting following the landmark US Supreme Court decision of 2018.
Pennsylvania also legalized online betting, and most land-based sportsbooks offer online features whether on app or browser.
History of Betting in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania decided to legalize betting in November 2018 and the Hollywood Casino was the first sports bet in the state. Not much longer, six more casinos in Pennsylvania decided to operate as a sportsbook.
The first online sportsbook in Pennsylvania launched back in 2019, and since then many have joined this journey.
Like all states in the US, Pennsylvania was given the opportunity to determine their own sports betting laws, when the Supreme Court repealed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act which acted as a ban on almost all sports betting in the United States, except Nevada.
As of now, the online gambling market is valued at $66.67 billion, and it is expected to grow to $100 billion in the next couple of years.
Fortunately, states like Pennsylvania had been preparing for this and wanted to enter the market as soon as the law was repealed.
Just after that, Pennsylvania decided to legalize sports betting with few points:
- Betting is legal for both professional and college events
- Online betting is fully legal but only from regulated online sportsbooks
- You must be 21 years old in order to place a bet
- If you want to become a sportsbook, you need to pay a $10 million license fee and the generated revenue will be taxed at 36%. This is the highest sports betting tax in the US compared to other states.
- Sports betting is allowed at casinos and racetracks including all professional, international, and college games.
- Sports betting is not allowed on high school sports
- Currently, Pennsylvania doesn’t allow betting on esports
Currently, there are only 8 online sportsbooks in Pennsylvania, such as:
- DraftKings
- Fox Bet
- Unibet
- BetRivers
- Parx
- FanDuel
- SugarHouse
- TwinSpires
To find out how to bet on TwinSpires Pennsylvania click here.
Just because of the high tax rate, the growth and offer of online sportsbooks are much slower compared to other countries.
For example, Pennsylvania has a tax rate for sportsbooks at 36% compared to New Jersey with 8.5%. With that said, sportsbooks will be limited in their offering in terms of services and bonuses compared to other countries.
Final Words
We can conclude that online sports betting is legal in Pennsylvania and you can bet on every sport imaginable, except esports. The only issue is the limitation to offers and betting options just because there are only a handful of sportsbooks that offer online gambling.
Experts predict that Pennsylvania will lower the taxation system on the gambling industry in the near future, which will be an invitation to new sportsbooks companies and more diverse offers. With that said, you can still bet on some of the most popular sports and with similar odds to competitors in other states with very few limitations.
Pennsylvania is one of the states where almost every sport and betting activities are legal and you don’t have to worry about getting in trouble when betting on your favorite games.