bet365 has officially taken its sports betting and iGaming platforms live in the Pennsylvania online gaming market as of Monday, July 22 after receiving final approval from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB).
The PGCB confirmed to SBC Americas that as of Friday afternoon, July 19, bet365 was approved to operate in the Keystone State. The British sportsbook announced at noon ET on Monday that it had begun taking bets in the state.
The British sportsbook had undertaken a soft launch test period on Tuesday with a view to becoming the state’s newest mobile gaming operator. Now, both its sports betting and online casino offerings are officially live in its 11th U.S. state. It is the first new sportsbook brand in the state since Fanatics transitioned from PointsBet in January.
bet365 has market access in Pennsylvania through a partnership with Presque Isle Downs & Casino, a subsidiary of Churchill Downs Incorporated, that it struck way back in January 2023. It replaced TwinSpires as the operator partner in that arrangement.
It brings its slate of sports betting offerings including competitive sign-up bonuses, a robust same-game parlay offering and a large variety of bet boosts, as well as live dealers, online slots and table games, video poker and more in its virtual casino.
“With a venerable history saturated with numerous championships, intense rivalries and legendary athletes, Pennsylvania’s sports passion is undeniably Never Ordinary,” said a bet365 spokesperson in a press release emailed to SBC Americas. “We enthusiastically welcome new and eligible bettors from Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and the entire Keystone State as they join the bet365 experience, which features market-leading offerings like amazing bet boosts, the fastest in-game product, and unique same-game parlays.”
Pennsylvania offers opportunity but also challenges
In Pennsylvania, bet365 will likely see significant opportunity given that the state is in the top five for sports betting handle so far in 2024. In June, mobile sports betting operators took a combined $436.7 million in bets, yielding a gross revenue of $41.6 million. Those numbers are up 24% and 27%, respectively, year-over-year.
Pennsylvania, which will be bet365’s largest market by population, is just the second state after New Jersey in which bet365 can offer regulated iGaming, in addition to the Canadian province of Ontario.
How it will fare is difficult to say. bet365 has been a top-three performer in the neighboring state of Ohio behind only FanDuel and DraftKings, but Pennsylvania’s higher tax rate may prove a challenge. Pennsylvania taxes online sports betting at 36%, slot games at 54% and table games at 16%. Pennsylvania’s market is also stacked; bet365 is a late arrival in joining the likes of FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM and Caesars in the state’s sports betting market and is the 22nd online casino brand in the state.
A major U.K. market player, bet365 has an established history as an operator in North America. It first entered the U.S. market in 2019 in New Jersey through a partnership with Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City and has slowly grown its market share in the Garden State to around 5.7% at the last count, not far off where BetMGM stands in New Jersey. It has also reputedly converted a historic prominent grey-market presence in Ontario into a sizeable share of the regulated market.
bet365 has accelerated its pace in 2024; Pennsylvania is bet365’s fourth state launch in the last seven months, after Louisiana, Indiana and North Carolina.
