Pennsylvania’s most profitable casino wants a say in the creation of regulations for the state’s nascent online gaming industry, for which the board only recently made applications available.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is just beginning to draft regulations for the state’s online casino operators. Last week, Bensalem’s Parx Casino sent a request to the board for several specific regulatory restrictions on licenses to operate iGaming in the state.
As reported by LegalUSPokerSites.com, the requests include the following:
• Casinos Can Only Be Associated with One Skin
“The Board should establish a limitation on the number of interactive gaming skins an Interactive Gaming Certificate Holder may operate, and that limitation should be one skin per Certificate Holder, with the different categories of interactive games the Certificate Holder is authorized to offer on that single skin limited to the different categories of interactive games approved in its Interactive Gaming Certificate(s).”
• Site Names Must Include Property Names
“The Board should require that any branding associated with a skin match, or be predominantly the same, as the brand of the Certificate Holder as noted on the Interactive Gaming Certificate.”
In other words, 888poker.com would be Parx888poker.com; Party Poker would be ParxPartyPoker.com, etc. This part of the request is clearly aimed at Caesars’ WSOP.com, the company’s leading poker website, which would be required to be branded as a Harrah’s name since the only casino owned by Caesars is Harrah’s Philadelphia.
• Everything Must Be Located in Pennsylvania
“The Board should require Interactive Gaming Employees and Interactive Gaming Devices and Associated Equipment to be located within Pennsylvania.”
• Revenue Sharing Agreements Should Be Allowed
“The Board should permit Certificate Holders and IGOs to enter into revenue sharing arrangements with providers of interactive gaming content.”
• Synchronize Start Dates
“The Board should establish a synchronized start date for the commencement of interactive gaming operations by Certificate Holders that apply within a particular application window.”
This would prevent one casino from partnering with someone like 888poker, which has already established itself in other states and would likely be ready for launch sooner than another brand like Pala.
The application window goes until April 2; the board will consider regulations as the process moves forward.
