Bally’s Seeking iGaming Privileges in Pennsylvania, State College Casino Dispute Drags On
Posted on: January 4, 2023, 11:48h.
Last updated on: January 4, 2023, 01:23h.
Bally’s Pennsylvania, LLC, a fully owned subsidiary of Rhode Island-based Bally’s Corporation, has filed a petition with the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) to receive iGaming privileges.
Pennsylvania gaming regulators on Tuesday reopened bidding for iGaming concessions. The PGCB said there are three categories of interactive gaming licenses available, each costing a one-time fee of $4 million.
The state says there are three available licenses to operate online slot machines, three licenses for online table games, and six permits for internet poker. Bally’s is seeking online slot and table privileges, which — if the company is deemed a “Qualified Gaming Entity” by the PGCB and is subsequently issued the concessions — would need to pay the state an $8 million licensing fee.
The Bally’s bid for iGaming in Pennsylvania comes as the company continues to seek a Category 4 “mini-casino” license. The company wants to renovate the former Macy’s department store at the Nittany Mall in State College near Penn State University into Bally’s Pennsylvania.
Satellite casinos were authorized through a substantial gaming expansion package passed in 2017. Each mini-casino is allowed to operate a maximum of 750 slot machines.
An initial allotment of 30 table games can be added for an additional $2.5 million. After 12 months in operation, satellites can petition the PGCB for an additional 10 tables.
Bally’s Bullish on Pennsylvania
Since the state’s 2017 gaming expansion — which in addition to satellites, legalized sports betting, online casino gambling, truck stop gaming, and airport gaming lounges — Pennsylvania has emerged as one of the richest gaming states in the country. Pennsylvania’s monthly gaming revenue regularly trails only Nevada, and sometimes New Jersey.
Despite market saturation concerns, Bally’s remains focused on gaining entry to the commonwealth. Should its State College casino plan fall through because of legal challenges to the Category 4 bidding process and/or widespread local opposition to the project, Bally’s still wants to operate online slots and tables in the commonwealth.
Bally’s believes it meets the state’s requirements to be considered a “Qualified Gaming Entity” to receive iGaming rights.
In its PGCB petitions, the company says it satisfies the state’s requirement that a bidding iGaming firm “demonstrate that it currently holds, directly or indirectly through an affiliate, a license in good standing in any US or foreign gaming jurisdiction.” Bally’s currently owns and manages 14 land-based casinos and one horse racetrack in the US.
Bally’s also thinks it satisfies Pennsylvania’s requirement that an iGaming applicant is “in good standing and there may not be any enforcement actions pending against the entity.” However, sections of Bally’s iGaming petition were redacted, as permitted under the state’s Gaming Act. One of the redacted sections follows Bally’s saying it has never been denied a gaming license in a market it has sought entry.
Finally, Bally’s says it has no trouble producing a “bond or letter of credit” from an established bank in the US. That would be used to follow-through on the $8 million fee it would need to pay for the online gaming licenses.
Cordish to Make its Case
The Cordish Companies, which operates Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia and Live! Casino Pittsburgh, has raised legal concerns that Bally’s should not be allowed to operate a casino in State College.
Cordish attorneys argue that Ira Lubert, who was the high bidder during the PGCB’s satellite casino auction round in September 2020, orchestrated an illicit bid by partnering with Bally’s before submitting his winning $10 million offer. Only land-based casinos and key individual investors in the state’s brick-and-mortar casinos qualified to bid during the 2020 auction.
Lubert maintains a 3% ownership position in Rivers Casino Pittsburgh. Soon after securing College Township for his Category 4 casino development, Lubert announced a partnership with Bally’s to embark on what would be a $123 million development.
In December, the PGCB said Cordish will be allowed to intervene in its review of Bally’s Pennsylvania proposal. The state will provide Cordish with 15 minutes at a to-be-scheduled hearing to present its case as to why Bally’s should be denied a Category 4 casino license.
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Last Comments ( 13 )
Slam the Pennsylvania iGaming door squarely in the face of Bally's. They deserve nothing less!
Yesterday the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board determined the application from BALLY’S PENNSYLVANIA, LLC was missing more than a few of the details the Board was hoping to see there. You won't find their comments unless you find them on the PGCB website posted under FILINGS at the upper right corner under the Hearings and Appeals tab. Look there either now or later because the feedback is already posted there. Just sayin'...
I'm a student at Penn State. I am surprised that Bally's even considered placing a brick-and-mortar casino in State College. Anybody who follows this website can see the strong leaning of current gamers to use digital betting methods. Digital betting is more convenient, cheaper, and very easy. Roughly 23% of college students gamble online (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17882602/). The Penn State student population is already hooked on sports betting online, and it's ludicrous to think a physical casino would garner enough student gamblers to turn a profit. No Penn State student would seriously consider going off-campus to a casino, it's just not as convenient as being downtown. And if anybody thinks a casino would get profit from the regular State College population, not the students, that's laughable. State College has barely 40k people (https://datausa.io/profile/geo/state-college-pa/), and State College is a family-oriented community. Penn State supplies almost 90k students, of which I am one, through its main University Park campus (https://www.collegefactual.com/colleges/pennsylvania-state-university-main-campus/student-life/diversity/). Any casino development in State College would necessarily be directed towards the larger population: the students that are here for three quarters of the year. But as was mentioned earlier, the students are already hooked on the online gaming scene.
As an alumna of Penn State, I remember the Nittany Mall before it declined into the ghost town it is today. I easily found a detailed and accurate YouTube visual explanation of its downfall, including a description of the loss of each former anchor store. You can find the same video by doing a search for "Visit To A Tired Nittany Mall." I cannot imagine a Bally's casino bringing life to any already dead shopping mall anywhere. Are they in denial about that? Bally's might want to take another look at their plan -- no other casino would take a gamble on finding success in State College. Most residents in that college already oppose it!
Nittany Mall went downhill after a Bally's casino was announced in 2021 as the solution to save it. I refused to believe it actually lost all four anchor stores (Sears, Macy's, J.C. Penney, and Bon-Ton) until seeing a very recent walk-thru YouTube video found by searching for Nittany Mall Timeline 2020-2022. Watch that and you'll agree a casino is not a solution for saving it.
Bally's wants to renovate a former Macy’s department store at a nearly vacant and struggling shopping mall? Is that the best plan and location their leadership can imagine for a brand-new Bally's casino in Pennsylvania? Bally's chances for any success with that kind of plan can be best described as doubtful. Maybe laughable is a more accurate description.
I cannot believe the financial forecasters in this big corporation think this is a good idea. I hope the local opposition momentum gains strength.
Bally's just realized two things. First, even if they did get their casino in State College there would be no grand opening until about 2026. Way too far away to even plan a leaseback strategy. Secondly, they just learned the PA Gaming Control Board has zero tolerance at Pennsylvania land-based casinos for unattended minors left in vehicles. When a preventative measure of "Valet Parking Only" at casinos becomes mandatory, the potentially significant loss of revenue from local casino patrons will be viewed as absolutely unacceptable.
This puts a lot of things in clearer perspective! It costs millions of dollars to be able to open a casino. So, why would anybody be willing to do this unless they knew they would make much more money than this initial cost?! And where will the money come from? From Pennsylvania residents who lose money to gambling. Doesn't this sound like an obvious recipe for failure? So, why even go there? We don't need to allow a rich owner to get richer while the large majority of people who would visit a casino will get poorer. And some will have very serious problems. So, let's just prevent the loss of money and the serious problems by making sure that no more new casinos open up in Pennsylvania. This sounds like a simple, no-brainer solution.
Locating a casino in State College will encourage many parents not to send their students to Penn State university's main campus, will present a significant distraction to the students, and eventually affect the quality of graduates from Penn State's main campus, and will negatively affect Penn State's reputation as an institution.
A Bally's casino near Penn State University? It won't happen. There will never be a casino near State College, regardless of who dreams of bringing chaos to Happy Valley. Bally's Corporation fully realizes that now even though they'll mention being disappointed. Their business plan now will be to grab iGaming revenue from Pennsylvanians. That land-based brick-and-mortar casino in this college town will be swiftly denied. This is the "Plan B" Bally's has kept in their hip pocket until now.
Please do not bring a Casino to State College, PA. Out community does not need what comes with a casino. Dottie Sandusky
Building a new land-based mini-casino in Pennsylvania's oversaturated gambling market would be a very risky bet, especially when the host community is so strongly opposed. Bally's would do well to abandon its plans for a land-based casino near Penn State and to focus its efforts on expanding its online gambling offerings instead. The future of gambling in Pennsylvania is online.