An unusual week in Pennsylvania gaming news, with agita racing through the paddocks, a ninth online sportsbook debuting, and the NBA season suspended.
While college basketball tournament cancellations pile up because of the spread of coronavirus, there’s plenty of interesting news and sports left to bet on at PA sportsbooks.
Tapping a trust fund for the ponies?
Tom Wolf is playing the Governator role against the equine business in the Keystone State, threatening to divert $204 million in trust funds dedicated to the horse industry.
He wants to create up to 25,000 scholarships for students attending one of 14 state universities in the Commonwealth. Wolf had approved the state’s Race Horse Development Trust Fund just two years ago.
While his proposal may be a long-shot, for now, breeders are already looking to the greener pastures of Maryland.
Meanwhile, Wolf is beating the drum for audiences of students and parents talking about college affordability.
And the pony people are rounding up their political allies and citing economic impact and open space. For now, the certainty is uncertainty.
Hail, Caesars online sportsbook
Long-awaited, Caesars Entertainment finally began taking sports bets at the Caesars online sportsbook last Tuesday during its soft-launch.
The online sports betting platform is available now on desktop and Android, and an iOS app should launch in the near future.
Scientific Games operates the platform in partnership with Harrah’s Philadelphia.
Sometime in the spring, an online casino, including slots, table games and video poker, should follow. While the company did not address online poker at launch, Caesars is tied to WSOP.com, which already operates in NJ, so that would be a logical addition later as well.
Executive VP of Gaming and Interactive for Caesars Entertainment Christian Stuart said in the press release:
“Caesars Entertainment is the leader in legalized and regulated gaming in the US, and this online sports betting launch in Pennsylvania is an exciting expansion given the incredible number of sports fans across the state.”
Basketball on hold during coronavirus crisis
There will be no pro hoops games for the near future due to coronavirus precautions. College basketball tournaments are also canceled for the most part. At the time of writing, the Big East tourney is still going, and the NCAA has yet to be canceled.
For betting on sports that are still running, many in PA will want to take advantage of online sports betting options.
With nine online sportsbooks in Pennsylvania, there are lots of lines, betting markets, boosts, tweets and promotions available.
Playin Pennsylvania plans to pore through the content and brings you the best of the books each week on Wednesdays.
Check out this week’s roundup here. While you may not be able to bet on basketball, for the time being, there’s still golf and futures bets for MLB and NFL, like Carson Wentz for MVP.
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