Pennsylvania sports betting has been legal since 2017, which was way before any other state jumped on the bandwagon. As a result, you have plenty of options when it comes to betting on the 76ers and other PA pro sports franchises.
Collegiate sports betting is also legal in the Keystone State, including in-state college teams. In this article, I will introduce you to the top PA sportsbooks and walk you through the ins and outs of the betting industry in Pennsylvania.
The gambling expansion bill in PA was signed by the Governor in 2017, a year before the PASPA was lifted following a Supreme Court ruling. Alongside NJ, this made it one of the first states to legalize mobile sports wagering.
Here is the timeline of the story so far:
Yes, sports betting is legal in Pennsylvania. As we discovered above, PA was the first state to pass a legal sports wagering bill in 2017, after which the first legal sports bet was accepted in 2018. This was followed by the launch of mobile and online betting in Mat 2019.
Want to get things off to the best possible start? All 12 sportsbooks in PA offer a welcome bonus, and I’ve tested them all.
Four Pennsylvania sportsbook promos stand out before the rest – here they are:
You have 12 legal sports betting sites to choose from here in the Keystone State, which I feel is the perfect amount of choice – not too much and not too little. As an expert, I have used all of them, and here are what I believe to be the best four Pennsylvania sportsbooks:
BetMGM has quickly risen to become probably the best sportsbook in the US as a whole, not just here in Pennsylvania. This is thanks to its slick betting app, market selection, and competitive odds. Good news for us basketball fans, as BetMGM is the official betting partner of the 76ers.
Alongside FanDuel, DraftKings is the official betting partner of the NBA, making it another great option for all of us basketball fans here in PA. On top of that, you have an amazing web and app interface with features that make betting easy regardless of your experience level.
This is the second of two Pennsylvania sportsbooks with an official partnership with the NBA. If you have a bit of experience with sports betting already, I highly recommend making use of the same-game parlay features, particularly for basketball matches.
Are you an NFL fan as well as a basketball fan? If so, this is one of the best Pennsylvania sportsbooks for football specials, thanks to its partnership with the Eagles. On top of that, Caesars offers the best customer service that I’ve experienced when betting online.
Now that we’ve looked at my top-rated Pennsylvania sportsbooks, here is the complete list of all 12 live PGCB-approved operators:
You can place sports bets online and in person in the Keystone State. Curious to know more about all of your options?
You can find the essential info about all online and retail sportsbooks right here:
Online sportsbook | Online casino | Retail partner |
Betfred | ✅ | Wind Creek Bethlem |
BetMGM | ✅ | Hollywood Casino |
betPARX | ✅ | Parx Casino |
BetRivers | ✅ | Rivers Casino |
Betway | ✅ | Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia |
Caesars Sportsbook | ✅ | Harrah’s Philadelphia |
DraftKings | ✅ | The Meadows |
ESPN Bet | ❌ | N/A |
Fanatics Sportsbook | ✅ | N/A |
FanDuel | ✅ | Valley Forge Casino |
SugarHouse | ✅ | Rivers Casino |
Unibet | ✅ | Mohegan Sun Pocono |
Sportsbook | Venue | Address |
---|---|---|
The Sportsbook | Hollywood Casino | 777 Hollywood Blvd, Grantville, PA 17028 |
Wind Creek Bethlehem’s Sportsbook | Wind Creek Casino | 77 Wind Creek Blvd, Bethlehem, PA 18015 |
BetRivers Sportsbook | Rivers Casino Philadelphia | 1001 N. Delaware Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19125 |
BetRivers Sportsbook | Rivers Casino Pittsburgh | 777 Casino Dr, Pittsburgh, PA 15212 |
The Sportsbook at The Meadows | The Meadows Racetrack & Casino | 210 Racetrack Rd, Washington, PA 15301 |
FanDuel Sportsbook | Valley Forge Casino | 1160 1st Ave, King of Prussia, PA 19406 |
Mount Airy Sports Book | Mount Airy Casino | 312 Woodland Rd, Mt Pocono, PA 18344 |
Parx Race & Sportsbook | Chickie’s & Pete’s Malvern | 10 Liberty Boulevard Suite 190 Malvern, PA 19355 |
Parx Sportsbook | Parx Casino | 2999 Street Road, Bensalem, PA 19020 |
South Philadelphia Race & Sportsbook | South Philly Turf Club | 700 Packer Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19148 |
TwinSpires Sportsbook | Presque Isle Downs & Casino | 8199 Perry Hwy, Erie, PA 16509 |
Unibet Sportsbook | Mohegan Sun Pocono | 1280 PA-315, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702 |
Unibet Sportsbook | Lehigh Valley Race & Sportsbook | 1780 Airport Rd., Allentown, PA 18109 |
Caesars Sportsbook | Harrah’s Casino | 777 Harrah’s Blvd., Chester, PA, 19013 |
To be able to legally place a sports wager in the Keystone State, either mobile or in-person, you need to be 21+ and physically located within PA borders.
Before you sign up and bet, here are a few essential things I think you should know first:
Want a summary of everything covered in my PA betting guide thus far, here are the main pros and cons:
Keen to get started with Pennsylvania sports betting online after hearing everything I’ve told you so far? Just follow my step-by-step guide below and I’ll walk you through the whole process from start to finish:
Select one of my top recommended Pennsylvania sportsbooks from earlier in the article.
You can register online using the mobile app or the desktop website. You just need your ID and some personal info, such as your SSN, to verify your account.
At this stage, you might need to activate your welcome offer. For more information, you can check out what I believe to be the best sportsbook promotions in the Keystone State here.
You can now fund your account with your online banking, credit/debit card, e-wallet, or another payment alternative, depending on what’s available with your sportsbook of choice.
That’s it; you’re now ready to place your first mobile sports wager in PA. Browse the available sporting events and markets to find a wager that suits you.
If some of your bets win and you manage to build up some bankroll, you can withdraw your winnings. Usually, it’s best to receive the payout to the same account that you used for your last deposit.
Pennsylvania sportsbooks mostly use American (moneyline) odds by default, as in the rest of the US. These might look confusing to you at first, but trust me, they are actually quite easy to read.
Here’s how they work:
Philadelphia 76ers | -200 |
Miami Heat | +165 |
Here you can see that the 76ers are -200 favorites, so you would need to bet $200 to get a $100 profit if you were to win. In other words, you stand to win $0.50 for every $1.00 you bet.
As +165 underdogs, a $100 bet on Heat would get you $165 in profit, but the probability of them winning is lower.
So far, we’ve focussed on what you can bet on in Pennsylvania, but there are exceptions to every rule. Here are the main things that we are currently not able to wager on in the Keystone State:
As well as professional sports, you can also place wagers legally on college sports in the Keystone State. This includes PA-based college teams, such as the Pitt Panthers, and Villanova Wildcats.
PA has one of the largest sports betting handles in the country, and it taxes the sportsbooks at 36%. As a result, over half a billion has been raised in taxes.
Interested to know more about the figures? For all of you financial tax fanatics out there, I have put together the year-on-year information about the PA sports betting handle for you below:
Year | Total handle | Revenue | Hold | Tax |
---|---|---|---|---|
2023 | $7.6 billion | $686.9 million | 9.2% | $165.1 million |
2022 | $7.25 billion | $597.3 million | 8.2% | $144.4 million |
2021 | $6.75 billion | $505.5 million | 7.8% | $122.5 million |
2020 | $3.5 billion | $269 million | 7.5% | $81 million |
2019 | $1.5 billion | $111 million | 7.5% | $30 million |
2018 | $17 million | $2.5 million | 14% | $905K |
The Keystone State isn’t short of professional sports teams, and aren’t we all big fans of the 76ers? Additionally, there are Philly and Pittsburgh-based franchises in the NHL, NFL, and MLB.
All of these franchises have embraced the legal betting landscape and each has an official partnership with one or more Pennsylvania sportsbooks. However, my advice when betting is to avoid teams that you are a fan of. Sports wagering should be logical and pragmatic, and passion can cloud your judgment.
We have covered all of the most important legal questions throughout this article so far. But to sum things app, I’ve created this list of all the key points for you:
So far, our focus has been entirely on Pennsylvania sports betting, but are you interested in other forms of gambling? PA is among the most liberal gambling states in the US, and here I’ve given you the lowdown on everything from casinos to poker and DFS:
Here I have brought together all of the facts and figures covered in this article so far. You can use this as a quick reference point for all things regarding sports betting and gambling in the Keystone State.
Launch date (retail): | November 2018 |
Launch date (online): | May 2019 |
Online sports betting: | ✅ |
No. of live sportsbooks: | 12 |
Remote registration: | ✅ |
Retail sports betting: | ✅ |
Collegiate sports betting: | ✅ |
Esports betting: | |
Online casinos: | ✅ |
Retail casinos: | ✅ |
Online poker: | ✅ |
In-person poker: | ✅ |
Population: | 12.9 million |
Total handle (2023) | $7.6 billion |
Tax rate (sportsbook revenue): | 36% |
Tax rate (customer net winnings) | 3.07% |
Regulator: | Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) |
Although Pennsylvania sports betting only became legal relatively recently, by comparison, casino gambling, and poker have been around for a while. As a result, PA has some well-established responsible gaming initiatives in place that you can access if you or a loved one has a gambling-related problem.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) has a separate website that is entirely dedicated to responsible gaming. On top of that, Pennsylvania is a member state of the National Council Of Problem Gambling, who you can call anytime.
If you want to be safe and on the right side of the law when betting online or in person in PA, make sure to use legal and licensed sportsbooks and casinos. Above all else, you must avoid overseas sportsbooks online. As well as being strictly illegal, your funds and data are highly unsafe here and potentially exposed to online hacking and/or theft.
To add to that, don’t try to pull a fast one and register with a border-state online sportsbook. The geolocation technology will sniff you out regardless of how good you think your VPN might be. If you are caught using an out-of-state sportsbook, you risk your account being locked and banned.
Sadly, folks, all good things must come to an end, and we’ve just about finished my guide to PA sports betting. The good news, however, is that the game for you is only just about to tip off.
Armed with your new-found understanding of the rules and regulations, you can now sign up to one of my top recommended sportsbooks and claim your bonus today. Then, all you need to do is deposit some funds, choose a betting market and you’re good to go.
Pennsylvania passed a bill to legalize sports betting in 2018. However, they had to wait until the PASPA was overruled by the Supreme Court in 2018 to accept the first retail single-game sports bet. The first online sportsbook went live in May 2019 and there are currently 12 legal betting sites available in PA.
Yes, as well as in-person bets at 15 retail units, online sports wagers on pro and collegiate sports are also legal in the Keystone State. You can register remotely and bet online at any of the 12 mobile sportsbooks, provided you are aged 21+ and physically located within state borders.
Bet365 was approved for market access in Pennsylvania in January 2023. However, it doesn’t yet have its full PGCB license, as of December 2024. We have high hopes that it will launch soon though, and when it does we will be the first to let you know. Bookmark Dunkorthree.com and revisit this page for updates as and when they happen.
Altogether, there are 12 legal online sportsbooks in Pennsylvania in 2024. The best ones in my opinion are BetMGM, FanDuel, DraftKings, and Caesars Sportsbook. Curious to find out why? Check out be PA sports betting guide here at Dunkorthree.com.
Currently, there are 12 online sportsbooks and 15 retail sports betting units inside casinos and racetracks. Additionally, other operators will potentially be approved to access the PA market by the PGCB soon.
21+ and present in VA. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.