Yesterday afternoon, BetAmerica decided to launch their online sportsbook in Pennsylvania. The launch took place with no fanfare and players will see a period of testing before the brand is fully operational. BetAmerica is owned by Churchill Downs Incorporated and can offer services online in Pennsylvania via a license held by Presque Isle Downs & Casino.
Soft Launch Period
Like all other online gaming sites, the BetAmerica sportsbook will have to complete a soft-launch period before going live full time. On Monday, the site was operational from 4pm until 12am. Today, the site will open at 2pm and will remain online until 12am. On Wednesday, the site will operate from 12pm until 12am.
Once the testing phase is complete and officials give the go-ahead, BetAmerica will be able to offer services for twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
While the brand will offer services online, there will not be an app for Android or iOS users just yet. According to PlayPA, a representative for the company stated that they plan to launch an app in the future. The launch of BetAmerica marks the first time that an online sportsbook has started without an application option.
Details of the Offering
Players who want to take part in sport betting via BetAmerica must set up an account. Name, date of birth, address and last four numbers of the social security number are required. Once an account is set up, its time to make a deposit.
For depositing and withdrawing funds, BetAmerica is offering several options. Choose from online banking, Skrill, PayPal, Play+ and cash deposit via PayNearMe. Credit cards can be used to deposit funds but are not an option for withdrawal unless otherwise approved.
With the launch of BetAmerica, it marks the 8th online sportsbook to arrive in Pennsylvania. Sports betting is big business and in states where the option is legalized, operators are popping up left and right to get in on the action.
In Pennsylvania, we have BetAmerica launched in December and last month, Unibet and DraftKings got in on the action. The sports betting handle continues to increase as more operators begin to offer services. In October, the sports betting handle came in at just over $240 million. The number should be even higher once the November totals are revealed.
Online sports betting has helped to fuel the online casino and poker market in the state as well. The online market has steadily grown over the past few months and the online gaming offering continues to expand in several directions. PokerStars PA and PokerStars Casino recently launched, with players excited to gain access to online gaming content from the gaming giant.
There is now speculation that the online gaming market in Pennsylvania will eventually rival that of New Jersey. Sports betting, online casino and poker games are offered in the state and the options only continue to expand. Online poker is doing quite well, and analysts are already started to compare PA successes to that of NJ.
Online poker is where the state has struggled, and we may soon see that Pennsylvania begins to take over the lead when it comes to having the largest market in online poker and possibly other sectors.
For now, we will stay tuned as BetAmerica continues their testing phase and it will be interesting to see just how popular the operator is as players begin to explore their offering.
