Kambi Group still awaits approval on an operating license from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB). Three casinos that partnered with Kambi to offer PA sports betting await that green light in order to begin offering wagers.
In the meantime, Kambi appears prepared to kick off its Keystone State operations. The company will obivously help with the mobile betting offering as well as over-the-counter betting.
There will be a new element for PA sports bettors in the mix too though. Already popular across Europe, kiosks give players access to a wide range of bets that are just a few finger taps away.
Kambi betting kiosks
Kambi is already a part of the American sports betting scene. It powers SugarHouse Casino’s PlaySugarHouse betting app in New Jersey, in addition to 888 Sport and DraftKings. However, the kiosks headed to PA will be new ground for the company.
The company gave Playin Pennsylvania a closer look at what the new kiosks will offer players. These may not be exactly how the PA versions work and function, but it should be reasonably close. Kambi allows for a ton of flexibility and customization, but the basic gist should still apply. Let’s take a look:
Before using Kambi’s kiosks, bettors have three options to deposit funds:
- A player account card with money loaded at a casino or via a player’s online account
- A voucher with funds deposited over the counter with a teller
- Cash
In using either of the first two options, users insert their card or voucher into the kiosk. The card requires a password to log into the user’s account.
Once users select an event to wager on, they place a bet with their desired amount of funds on the card or ticket.
Those selections then move to the users’ “pending bets” section of the screen. Once complete, users end the session and the machine prints a receipt.
Once an event is completed, bettors wanting to cash out must do so over the counter. However, those who want to use their winnings to fund another bet and bring their betting slip to the kiosk to do so.
These kiosks, according to Kambi, “are optimized for omni-channel.” In essence, bettors can link their online accounts to the terminals. As a result, patrons can win money at the terminal or via an online sportsbook, with both sharing one wallet.
It also means that you can load your player card via your phone. You can be waiting in line for your turn at the kiosk and loading funds onto your account at the same time, without a trip to the counter at all.
A window into the future
Such ease of wagering will become something of the norm for PA sports betting users.
To date, each casino that has petitioned the PGCB to offer sports betting has indicated self-service kiosks will be part of their sports betting offerings. Those terminals will reside not only within sportsbooks but, in some cases, scattered around casino floors too.
Contrary to the wagering world in Europe, kiosks will not be anywhere but gambling and betting spaces, such as casinos and racetracks.
PGCB approval of Kambi awaits
Six properties have conditional approval to move forward with plans to offer sports betting. Three are expected to go live by year’s end.
Hollywood Sportsbook expects to be the first to open its doors sometime in November. When December rolls around, SugarHouse Casino and Rivers Casino hope to be up and running as well.
Of those three PA sports betting venues, two have Kambias a sports betting partner. Rush Street Interactive, which works with Rivers and SugarHouse, entered a multi-year agreement with Kambi in May.
Hollywood Casino has a clear path to open following the PGCB approval the operation license of William Hill US, Hollywood’s sports betting partner. Kambi and Rush Street Interactive, meanwhile, will likely have to wait until the next PGCB hearing, scheduled for Nov. 28, for such approval.
