Pennsylvania: status at a glance
| Online casino | Live, state-licensed |
|---|---|
| Sports betting | Online and retail |
| Online poker | Live, state-licensed |
| Sweepstakes casinos | Contested: regulator or AG action Gaming Control Board orders; HB 2801 introduced 24 Sep 2026, pending |
How the law set this up
Pennsylvania's gambling law is the Race Horse Development and Gaming Act of 2004. The Gaming Control Board's Legislation page describes it as amended several times since, and the Board's own press release from August 16, 2019 adds the Gaming Expansion Act of 2017 as the second law it oversees. That 2017 expansion is what opened online casino games; the Board's release says casinos launched them the week of July 15, 2019 and reported a partial month gross of $812,306. The release names SugarHouse, Parx and Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course. We did not read the statute text, since the legislature's host refused our normal client with a 403 response, and the Board's pages cite no section numbers.
The regulator is the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board; its remit and publications are laid out on the regulator page.
Who may hold a certificate
On the Board's list, a certificate goes to a casino licensee: every holder is named for a Pennsylvania casino, followed by the brands and websites it is authorized to run. The familiar sportsbook and casino names are therefore not holders themselves. The Board's list places each brand under the casino whose certificate it uses, and one casino can carry several brands.
Legal online casinos Pennsylvania: the Board's list
The Board's document carries a date only in its file name, 4.30.26, and the Board's own page links it as the current list. Reading it on November 11, 2026, we counted 12 certificateholders. Former sites that the document also shows are not counted. The brand names below are the ones the Board lists; the domains are those the list shows for each holder.
Golden Nugget is an exception: it also holds a New Jersey permit, which is why its register entry is shared with the New Jersey list. The Board's separate Interactive Gaming Operators page links 24 sites by brand name and gives no total of its own, so 24 and 12 count different things: sites on one hand, certificateholders on the other.
What is covered
The Board's hub page for licensed online operators has four categories: sports wagering, iGaming, online poker and fantasy contests. Casino games fall under iGaming. The hub page gives no total and no certificate type. The Board lists PokerStars Casino Games and PokerStars Poker as two separate entries under one holder, so a single certificate can stand behind more than one kind of product.
What residents should know
The Board tells visitors to confirm that a site is regulated before betting and to look for its official logo on licensed sites and materials. The pages we read give no age limit or location rule, so none is stated here. Complaints and disputes go through patron dispute forms on the Board's site, and self-exclusion tools are on the state's responsible play site. The Board also publishes an iGaming involuntary exclusion list, with a data sheet for each entry.
How to check a license
- Open the Board's Interactive Gaming Operators page and find the brand.
- Open the certificateholder document and look for the exact web address under that brand.
- Match the domain character by character, including any pa. or play. prefix.
- If neither source shows it, the Board's list does not show that site as authorized.
The same steps for any state are in how to check an online casino license.
Sweepstakes casinos in Pennsylvania
Sweepstakes casinos hold no Pennsylvania certificate. Industry trackers classify the state as gray rather than banned, report Board orders involving the category, and note that a bill, HB 2801, was introduced on September 24, 2026 and is pending. We have not read those orders or the bill. How states differ is in the guide to states with sweepstakes casino bans.
Frequently asked questions
Is online casino gambling legal in Pennsylvania?
Yes, through a casino that holds an interactive gaming certificate from the Gaming Control Board. The legal basis the Board names is its 2004 gaming act as expanded in 2017.
How many licensed online casino operators does Pennsylvania have?
The Board's document lists 12 certificateholders, a count we made on November 11, 2026. Those 12 run many more brands and sites, and the Board's own operators page links 24 of them.
When did online casinos start in Pennsylvania?
The Board reported that three casinos launched online casino games the week of July 15, 2019.
Where is the list kept?
On the Gaming Control Board's website, as a document linked from its interactive gaming operators page.