If you are in northeaster PA, the closest beaches may be the beaches of the New Jersey Shore. Atlantic City, New Jersey and Cape May, all within a seven-hours drive from Pittsburgh are a good choice. You should be aware though that Atlantic City and Cape May both tend to get horribly crowded and the New Jersey shore can get dirty during.
Pennsylvania legalized online gambling as of the summer of 2019, making it the fourth state to join the party after New Jersey, Delaware, and Nevada. The Keystone state comesjust second to Nevada with the largest gambling market in the United States.
Before 2019, gamblers in Pennsylvania were either playing poker in their friends' basement or driving to the closest brick and mortar to try their luck on a game of slots. Now that onlinegambling has been legalized in the state, players can skip the road trip and sign up for an online casino to play their favorite games.
Land-based casinos in Pennsylvania can hold up to 5,000 machines and offer games like video poker, slots, blackjack, roulette, three card poker, and craps, while online casinos have muchsmaller libraries but still offer the classics.
A player must be over the age of 20 and located in the state's borders to access an online casino or enter a brick and mortar.
Online Casinos in Pennsylvania
While online casinos and poker have been legal in Pennsylvania since 2017, it took two years for the first casino to come out with an online platform.
Compared to New Jersey who started launching online casinos way back in 2013, this is still a new industry for PA. Regardless, there are already numerous online casinos for players to sign upfor.
Each platform has hundreds of games in the library with competitive bonuses to offer new players.
Top 10 Reasons to Play in an Online Casino
- Play from the comfort of your own home
- Available 24/7
- Claim big welcome bonuses
- Save money on travel and other amenities at the land-based casino (drinks, food)
- No waiting in long lines
- Collect points every time you play online to use on casino rewards
- Better RTP on games
- Avoid social interaction
- Play for free to practice a new game
- Huge game selection
Why playing online is better for you
Online casinos are becoming extremely popular in the state, mainly because of convenience and the money players are saving. We've listed a few of the main reasons why it would bebeneficial to sign up for an online casino instead of head to the brick and mortar to wager.
- Bonuses: You won't find any bonuses at the land-based casino, compared to online where operators hand them out regularly. These types of bonuses can come in the form of freemoney, free spins, and match deposits.
- Convenience: Online casinos are readily available 24/7. You can play whenever you like from anywhere inside the state.
- Money: Everyone wants to save money, and staying in to play is exactly how you can do that. By choosing to play at an online casino versus the land-based, you will save moneyon gas expenses and drinks or other activities you may be tempted with on the casino floor.
List of Online Casinos in Pennsylvania
SugarHouse Casino
SugarHouse currently offers one of the best welcome bonuses in the state! Sign up now and you'll receive a 100% match on your first deposit. The bonus has a 1x wagering requirement, which isthe lowest in PA currently. You can click the link below to get started.
Parx Casino
Parx is one of the only casinos in the state to have Free Spins offered in the welcome package. New players can claim a 100% deposit match up to $500, plus 500 free spins to use on selectslots!
Hollywood Casino
Hollywood Casino has a bonus ready for you before you even sign up. Once you complete registration, you’ll be rewarded with $25 in free play. After you make your first deposit, Hollywood willmatch it 100% capping it at $500.
PokerStars
PokerStars was the first operator to bring online poker to Pennsylvania. Players will find the poker platform on the same site as the online casino, which makes it easy to switch between thetwo. Sign up to PokerStars and claim a three-piece welcome package offer! You can read more about the offer, here.
Unibet
New players will get $10 right away to use on any games in the Unibet library after they have signed up. Next, have your first deposit matched by 100% up to $500!
BetAmerica
BetAmerica is one of the more recent casinos to launch online and might be the only site to not match your first deposit by 100%. Instead, BetAmerica will offer you a 25% match bonus up to$500. Players will notice the sportsbook integrated with the casino
FanDuel
FanDuel has a unique offer compared to other operators in PA, offering 24 hours of risk-free betting instead of a 100% deposit match. The bonus is worth $200 and can be used on all games in thelibrary. FanDuel will also return any money you lose back to your account.
BetRivers
BetRivers is the sister casino to SugarHouse and offers the same game library and welcome bonus. This means you can claim the same 100% match bonus worth $250, with a 1x wagering requirement.
Closest Casino To State College Parent
Caesars
Caesars is the most recent casino to enter the PA market and launched through Harrah’s Philadelphia. Caesars is a brand known around the country, with an online casino already doing very wellin New Jersey. You can claim a 100% match on your first deposit worth up to $300!
Closest Casino To State College Park
Land-Based Casinos in Pennsylvania
Before online casinos launched in Pennsylvania, players had to make their way to the local brick and mortar in order to place a legal wager. There are currently 12 casinos in the state, with a13th under construction and expected to open in 2021.
Parx Casino is the largest casino in the state, hosting over 3,200 game machines. It’s also one of the most popular, bringing in more revenue than most of its competition every year.
Mohegan Sun Pocono and Harrah’s Philadelphia also had highly rated reviews and seems to be the favorites for venues in the state. If you want to find the gambling hot-spot in Pennsylvania, werecommend heading to Philadelphia or Pittsburgh. Both have great casino options with dining amenities and entertainment.
Land-based casinos in PA are broken down into 3 categories. We explain each further, below.
Types of Casinos in Pennsylvania
There are three types of casinos in Pennsylvania: racinos, resorts, and stand-alone. Mini casinos will soon make up the fourth category, once they start opening in the state. The categories arebroken down as follows:
- six horse races tracks (racinos)
- five stand-alone casinos
- two hotel resorts
All of the casinos in Pennsylvania can have a maximum of 5,000 machines, except for the resort licensees, which are allowed up to 600. Additionally, all casinos in Pennsylvania are allowed tohave table games.
Racetrack Casinos in Pennsylvania
When a venue combines horse track betting and casino games together, you have a Category 1 casino, otherwise known as a racino. These types of casinos can hold up to 5,000 machines and featurea track to watch and wager on horses.
The following venues are classified as a Category 1 in PA:
- Parx Casino
- Harrah's Philadelphia
- Mohegan Sun Pocono
- Presque Isles Downs
- The Meadows Racetrack and Casino
- Hollywood Casino at Penn National
Stand-Alone Casinos in Pennsylvania
What’s interesting about Standalone casinos is the requirement that at least two out of the five must be in Philadelphia, with another in Pittsburgh. All of the casinos are allowed to have thesame amount of games and slots as a Category 1.
The following venues have standalone Category 2 licenses in PA:
- Mount Airy Casino Resort
- SugarHouse Casino
- Sands Bethlehem
- Rivers Casino
- Live! Philadelphia Casino & Hotel
Hotel Resort Casinos in Pennsylvania
Category 3 casinos (resorts) are the smallest type of venue in the state and can hold about 600 slot machines.
- Lady Luck Casino Nemacolin
- Valley Forge Casino Resort
Mini Casinos
Mini-casinos have recently been introduced as part of the gambling expansion in the state. They have the capacity to host anywhere between 300 to 750 slot machines and 30 casino games.
A handful of land-based casinos have started making bids to operate one, starting at 7.5 million. When auctioning had first started for mini-casinos, more than $50,000,000 was being offered.The next round of auctions will kick off in September 2020.