The legal landscape for online poker and casino gaming is slowly changing in the United States. More states are beginning to see the value of offering such gaming options, with Pennsylvania the last state to pass legislation to get started in the industry. The process is slow going but the state seems to be on its way to eventually launching online gaming sites.
In Pennsylvania, online gambling is slowly coming to fruition. After applying for licensing, land-based gaming companies in the state are now working to forge new partnerships in order to get started with online casino and/or online poker gaming. This week, Penn National Gaming announced they have partnered with International Gaming Technology (IGT) to work together in launching online gaming via the Hollywood Casino.
Penn National owns the Hollywood Casino at the Penn National Racecourse and will be using the brand name to launch the HollywoodCasino.com site. IGT will be providing the platform for the site, set to partner with Penn National for a five year time frame.
With the deal, Hollywood Casino will have access to PlayCommand, a product created by IGT that allows customers to play slot games, poker and bingo. The product is set to go live via the new Hollywood Casino site next year.
Chris Sheffield, the Sr. Vice President of Penn National Gaming and the Managing Director of PIV, commented on the new partnership by stating that the brand is excited to be using IGT’s platform and content with their online gaming launch. Mr. Sheffield pointed out that the PlayCommand platform is both flexible and reliable, and combined with the proven library of games within the PlayCasino of IGT, the brand is confident that Hollywood Casino will be a success online.
It was back in August that online gaming license began to be approved, with the first licenses going to Harrah’s Philadelphia, the Parx Casino and Mount Airy. As the licensing process has been ongoing, operators have been creating partnerships with companies like IGT in the hopes of having their sites ready to launch once the final approvals are given and gaming can begin.
Penn National is quite busy in Pennsylvania, expanding their brand online and in other ways. The company already operates The Meadows Racetrack and Casino as well as the Hollywood Casino at the Penn National Racecourse. It will be interesting to see how they fare once they go live with IGT as their online gaming content provider.
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