After the 90-day licensing window for complete online gambling, land casinos have a 30-day window for ‘a la carte’ online casino and poker gaming.
Pennsylvania casino operators have ninety days to apply for a full online gambling license, according to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. The announcement is retroactive to April 16, so casino operators have until the mid-July to file an application for an online casino and poker license.
Casino operators in the state were informed of the deadline nearly two weeks ago, but Doug Harbach, the Director of Communications for the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, confirmed that fact to Online Poker Report this week. The window applies to the state’s 13 land-based casinos, including the unfinished Stadium Casino project in Philadelhia.
Those who apply during the 90-day window must apply for a full online gambling license, including online table games, online slots, and Internet poker. The license will cost a $10 million flat fee.
Licensing for Gambling Service Providers
The application process for gambling service providers (slots designers) begins in May, while the application platform providers (888, PokerStars) begins in June. By the end of the summer, all who want to launch some form of online gambling by the time the Pennsylvania online gambling rollout begins should have a license.
The Gaming Control Board issued policies on the licensing process, stating: “No later than 90 days after the date the board begins accepting petitions under this chapter, a slot machine licensee may file a petition with the board for an interactive gaming certificate.”
The PGCB added, “If the board approves a petition for an interactive gaming certificate under this paragraph, the board shall authorize the interactive gaming certificate holder to offer any category of interactive gaming.”
Online Casino Licensing Process
The application process is more in-depth than previous states. Doug Harbach described the paperwork filing as more of a “legal petition”, saying it was more than “just an application”. A four-page set of instructions describes the full process, including a full list of games that a provider would offer.
With online slot machine developers, the process appears to be particularly complited. The PGCB’s instructions note, “The slot machine licensee shall, in accordance with regulations promulgated by the board, file with the board any changes in the number of authorized interactive games offered through interactive gaming.”
A La Carte Casino Licensing
When the 90-day window for complete online casino licensing ends, a second 30-date licensing period begins for “a la carte” online casino license. This is a process for the casino operators who want to offer only a specific type of online gambling. The three categories are online slots, online table games, and online poker.
The “a la carte” licensing has a flat fee of $4 million. The Gaming Control Board allows a land-based casino to apply for two of the three forms of online gaming, with a $4 million fee presumed for each. Thus, a casino operator which wants to offer online casino table games and slots — but does not want online poker — needs to pay an $8 million licensing fee.
What Online Slots Are Available in Pennsylvania?
Players should be able to see a complete list of the online slots games available by a provider in the coming months, though the PGCB instituted a 6-month maximum time frame for publishing of the game content. The instructions for slots providers stated, “Within six months of the effective date of this section, to publish on the board’s publicly accessible internet website a complete list of all slot machine licensees who filed a petition seeking authorization to conduct interactive gaming and the status of each petition or interactive gaming certificate.”
No date was set for the launch of Pennsylvania online gambling portals. Most speculation suggests an October 2018 or November 2018 rollout for online casinos and poker rooms, but those are predictions by those who have followed online gambling in other US states. The 6-month time frame appears to correspond with those predictions, but Pennsylvania has shown it may handle its online gambling rollout a bit differently than other US states. As the licensing process ends and sites start to do soft launches, expect more information on Pennsylvania online gambling.
