During a Wednesday, May 15 hearing, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) finally approved the sports betting license application that was filed by Mohegan Sun Pocono. The casino filed its petition for all forms of sports betting permitted by the state’s government in March and there was very little doubt that the state regulator would award it with a license especially considering how fast the sports betting industry has been advancing not just in Pennsylvania but in many other states as well.
According to Mohegan Sun Pocono President and General Manager Tony Carlucci, they intend to add the sportsbook near the property’s main entranced in a former electronics store next to Molly O’Shea’s Irish Pub. The casino has also planned to that the casino will cover a total of 1,130 square feet and accommodate up to 75 people – in addition to that, the facility will also feature a video wall, seven sports betting terminals as well as three teller booths.
Unfortunately, despite the fact that the details of the sportsbook’s features have been released to the public, the official’s have not disclosed any information with regards to when the casino will go live. Perhaps this will be announced very soon as the company prepares to join the lucrative and ever-growing sports betting market.
“We want to be cautious with our timeline. I want to say early fall to launch it. We’re probably going to launch it on the bricks-and-mortar side earlier than online. We very much want to be ready for NFL season, for sure,” said Aviram Alroy, the vice president of interactive gaming at Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment.
To facilitate its bid to venture into the sports betting market, the casino operator recently entered into an agreement with Unibet Interactive Inc. which is a New York-based subsidiary of the Kindred Group PLC – the company will serve as its sports betting and interactive wagering provider. Kindred will mostly be dealing with on-site and online sportsbook presence at Mohegan Sun Pocono. The customers of the sportsbook will get to enjoy having access to online and land-based betting services under the Unibet brand – there will also be a Unibet sports betting lounger in the casino.
Parx Casino’s License Renewed, Readies for Online Sports Betting
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has also renewed the Category 1 Racetrack Casino Operator’s license of Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment, Inc., which operates the Parx Casino in Bucks County. According to the seven members of the gaming control board, the casino and its parent company had fulfilled the obligations under its previously-approved gaming licenses and therefore qualified for the renewal.
With that out of the way, Parx Casino is now refocusing a lot of its attention on its upcoming online sports betting offering. To begin with, the casino plans to begin testing its online sports betting offering systems this month with the official launch set for early June.