Many of Pennsylvania’s online casinos have reported a surge in new signups as a result of the shutdown of land-based casinos due to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis. Operators of those casinos also are making sure to promote their operations to players who are stuck at home.
“During this very difficult and unprecedented period of time while most are staying home, it’s nice that we can provide another outlet for entertainment and a chance to win life-changing jackpots,” said Mattias Stetz, chief operating officer of Rush Street Interactive, after a player won a $278,430 jackpot on Rush Street’s PlaySugarHouse.com site.
“We are seeing an increase in casino play online as all land-based casinos in New Jersey and Pennsylvania have closed,” Stetz told the news site PennBets.com. “We are seeing about four to five times as many new casino customers signing up compared to what we would expect considering seasonality right now.”
Pennbets.com reported statements from several other of the state’s iGaming operators reporting surges in online signups and play. “We’ve seen a jump in new casino players in the last week in Pennsylvania as casino games have become some of the most appealing content within our sportsbook app,” said market leader FanDuel in a statement to the site.
Others were more cautious. “It’s far too early to tell what the impact might be in terms of online gaming,” Penn National Gaming spokesman Eric Schippers told the site.
“Before the Covid-19 crisis hit, we had launched new features and content to our site/app, but those changes were based on enhancing the customer experience and had nothing to do with the coronavirus outbreak.”
