NetEnt is the first big game developer to enter the newly established Pennsylvania online gaming market. Another milestone for the company.
Pennsylvania regulates online gambling
This has been a long time coming. In October 2017, Governor Tom Wolfe signed a bill concerning the comprehensive gambling expansion in Pennsylvania. The state became the fourth in the US to allow online gambling and establish proper regulation.
However, much work needed to be done before residents of Pennsylvania would actually be able to play slots online. The market regulations needed to be established and the operators who wished to offer their licenses needed to be approved for said licenses. These were offered for $4 million, though a package deal costs $10 million.
NetEnt receives conditional license
Besides operators of online casinos, the providers of the games also need to be licensed. NetEnt was the first developer to receive a conditional license in March 2019.
In April they signed a deal with DraftKings, the leading online sportsbook operator in the US, which would allow them to distribute their games on this new platform.
Of course, other online casinos will also license NetEnt games and players in Pennsylvania have just started to open up accounts at the first online casinos, the majority of which launched during the last two weeks.
Among them are:
- SugarHouse Online Casino PA, Hollywood Casino PA, Parx Casino PA, FanDuel at Valley Forge Casino, Harrah’s Philadelphia, Presque Isle Downs, Mohegan Sun Pocono, Mount Airy/Fox Bet
NetEnt continues to expand
With Pennsylvania being the 4th state to properly legislate online gambling, the hope is that more states will follow. NetEnt Americas LLC, a subsidiary of NetEnt AB, is ready for that to happen.
Says Eric Nyman, Managing Director: “This deal marks NetEnt’s first customer signing for Pennsylvania and is an important step in our growth strategy in North America. I look forward to our collaboration with Penn National and believe that our entertaining online games will be much appreciated by players in Pennsylvania.”
Considering that NetEnt had to deal with losses in Sweden after losing players due to stricter regulation here, expanding elsewhere should compensate that.