When the United States Supreme Court ruled in May 2018 that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was unconstitutional, it opened up the entire nation to sports betting legalization. Several states were already prepared for the legalization of sports betting and quickly began to offer services. Other states have passed legislation this year or are in the process of passing bills to legalize the activity. Pennsylvania was one such state already prepared for the new industry. Licensing has been in the works this year for several companies, though others are already offering services. The Presque Isle Downs & Casino is one such venue that will be offering sports betting in the near future as final preparations are almost complete.
Ready to Go
When 2019 began, the owner of the casino, Churchill Downs, approached the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board for licensing to offer sports betting. It wasn’t long before a license was issued and now they are almost ready to begin offering services. The casino is located in Erie and has been very busy over the past few months working to upgrade their gaming floor for sports betting. Several competitors have already been offering services which has put the company behind somewhat.
Presque Isle Downs decided to take their time so they could offer something more unique than the other gaming venues. The sportsbook is set to occupy a space where slot games were located, consisting of 1,275 square feet in size. The slots that formerly resided in the area were moved to a new location.
The casino placed the sportsbook near the poker room and simulcast area so that players of these sections would have access to sports betting. However, the casino will not be limited to offering such services in one space of the property.
The casino will also be home to self-service betting kiosks. The machines will be managed by the KT Group Limited, a company that was approved for a provisional license from the Gaming Control Board just last week. The issuance of the license is one of the final steps that the casino needed to complete in order to begin services.
Finishing Work This Week
According to the casino, work should be completed by the construction company on the project by this week. Bauer Specialties has been working the space, setting up branding logos with BetAmerica on them, the official operating arm of the sportsbook.
The brand is owned by Churchill Downs and the technology for the sportsbook will be provided by SBTech.
The exact date in which the new sportsbook of the casino will open has yet to be revealed. According to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, the casino will be telling them when the date will be so they can come out before hand and make sure everything is operating and set up as it should be.
Once the sportsbook is ready to go live, the board will be able to visit the property and give approval. A two day testing period must take place and watched by a regulator and once testing is done and completed well, the official betting can begin.
