BetMGM Sportsbook Officially Launches Online Betting in Pennsylvania

Photo credit: David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

BetMGM launched its Pennsylvania online sportsbook Thursday, bringing another major brand to one of the nation’s largest sports betting markets.

Pennsylvania’s newest legal sports betting option will accept bets on a full range of professional teams, giving eligible bettors physically within state lines another option to wager on the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers ahead of their respective games Sunday and in time for the start of the 2021 regular season for the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers. Bettors can also wager on the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers as they prepare for their regular-season opener next week.

Pennsylvania bettors can also wager on college sports, including in-state programs such as Penn State and the University of Pittsburgh.

State regulators approved MGM’s license at a meeting Wednesday. The BetMGM mobile site and app will partner with the Hollywood Casino Morgantown, a “mini” casino under construction in Caernarvon Township.

MGM, despite not having a retail property in the state, was able to open its online sportsbook under an agreement with Hollywood Casino operator Penn National. MGM opened its online casino offering earlier this month.

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MGM Joins Crowded Field

MGM is just the latest big name in what is an increasingly crowded Pennsylvania sports betting market.

BetMGM will be the 11th legal sportsbook to enter the state since online wagering began in 2019. “The King of Sportsbooks” will join:

BetMGM will look to challenge DraftKings and FanDuel for the top spots in Pennsylvania sports betting. The two daily-fantasy-sports-innovators-turned-sportsbooks have been perennial market leaders in Pennsylvania. FanDuel accepted a single-month record $185 million in handle in October, followed by DraftKings with $63 million.

Combined, the 10 legal sportsbooks accepted a Pennsylvania single-month record $525 million in total wagers in October, the vast majority of which came online. The Keystone State has accepted more than $4 billion in total wagers since the Supreme Court struck down the federal sports wagering ban in May 2018, trailing only Nevada ($11.5 billion) and New Jersey ($10.9 billion).

The online sports betting and casino revenues have helped keep the state’s gaming industry afloat. Some gaming facilities shut down in November as COVID-19 cases increased in the state, and all commercial casinos were ordered to close beginning in December and through at least Jan. 4, 2021.

Another Major Market for MGM

Pennsylvania could quickly emerge as one of the more lucrative betting markets for MGM, which has already taken on one of the most aggressive sports wagering expansions of any company. As of Friday, MGM has a retail or online sportsbook live in nine states with three more on the way.

Along with Pennsylvania, BetMGM offers statewide mobile wagering in Colorado, Tennessee, Indiana, West Virginia and New Jersey. It also offers mobile betting options in its home state of Nevada, but bettors must register at an MGM property before placing a wager.

In early 2021, MGM expects to launch its statewide mobile betting option in Michigan, where it already has a retail sportsbook at its Detroit casino. BetMGM will also be available in Iowa early in 2021.

MGM also has retail sports betting options in Mississippi, although online wagering is allowed by state law only within casino properties. Retail MGM sportsbooks in Oregon and New Mexico could also open as early as next year.

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