Bally’s Applies with PGCB to Join Pennsylvania iGaming Market

Bally’s Pennsylvania made the move this week to expand their gaming reach in the Keystone State by filing an application to offer online slots and table games, such as online blackjack and online roulette, to Pennsylvania’s iGaming customers.

Currently, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board sets the price tag for single license at $4 million, with Bally’s wanting two licenses to cover slots and table games their cost will double.

If approved, Bally’s would pay the state $8 million in licensing fees for the ability to legally offer the popular online games on their mobile app and desktop website platforms.

In late December, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board announced they would open the review process for gaming licenses on January 3rd, the same date Bally’s filed their application to the governing body.

Although Bally’s Pennsylvania remains a subsidiary of Bally’s Corporation, headquartered in Rhode Island, the company’s local representative has offered an aggressive blueprint for expanding their gaming reach in the state in recent weeks.

Not only has Bally’s filed their application for more online gaming with the PGCB, but the company has also pushed to add a “mini-casino” location at Nittany Mall, near the Penn State campus, in State College, PA.

Bally’s hopes to renovate an abandoned Macy’s superstore in the Nittany Mall to become a small casino location carrying the company’s name. The plan could be foiled by attorneys representing the interests of Live! Casino and their parent company, Cordish Companies.

Cordish’s attorneys claim that Bally’s parent company has made their mini casino bid illegally, by partnering with an individual investor, Ira Lubert. According to Pennsylvania law, only the state’s land-based casinos and individual investors can make bids in mini-casino licensing auctions. 

The PGCB ruled that Cordish could argue their reasons why Bally’s should not be awarded a mini casino license, known as a Category 4 casino license.