PA Sports Betting Expands Once More; Valley Forge Turf Club Now Approved
- The Valley Forge Turf Club Is The Eighth Location Approved By The State
- The Turf Club Is The Fifth Sportsbook Set To Open In The Philadelphia Area
- Mobile Sports Betting Not Expected To Come With The Valley Forge Turf Club
PHILADELPHIA – Even with the high cost of offering sports betting in Pennsylvania, gaming facilities have been rushing to get in on the action. The Valley Forge Turf Club is no different and was approved this week by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) to offer the activity.
The approval came as no surprise to the off-track betting site as the PGCB previously approved the Valley Forge Casino, another property owned by Boyd Gaming. In addition, this will be the third sportsbook in the state for Greenwood Gaming.
“Both will likely open sportsbooks in the next few weeks,” said Doug Harbach, a spokesman for the PGCB.
The Turf Club is the eighth location to be approved for sports betting in the state of Pennsylvania and the fifth in the Philadelphia area. Valley Forge is only an hour-long drive outside the City of Brotherly Love.
What This Means For The PA Sports Betting Market
However, while the sportsbook may be loved by their regular patrons, they will be met by stiff competition from the existing sports betting facilities.
According to the PGCB, the total handle for all the current open PA sportsbooks in January only amounted to $32 million and of that it only generated $886,000 in state tax revenue. Pennsylvania imposes a 35% tax on any sports betting license holder’s total keep.
The numbers have been less than impressive as compared to neighboring state New Jersey who generated a total a total handle of about 385 million in the same month. Most of the bets came through mobile devices, which the Turf Club does not plan to release at this time.
This comes in part to the PGCB wanting to focus on land-based sports betting locations first. “We are still working with operators to get sports wagering online,” said Harbach.
Without this added incentive Valley Forge will have to compete against larger venues in Philly for a piece of the PA sports wagering market that has already fallen short of previous expectations.
What This Means For Valley Forge Turf Club
Even though the total revenue generated by gambling on sports has underwhelmed some, the impact it can have for off-track betting sites is sizable.
“We’ve also seen an increase in horse racing wagering to the tune of about 15 percent,” said Matthew Cullen, Senior Vice President for iGaming and Sports for Greenwood Gaming.
SportsBettingPennsylvania.com knows the Valley Forge Turf Club is specifically designed for pari-mutuel wagering and has been a long-time favorite by horse racing fans across the state. Adding a sportsbook in the facility could see this percentage grow even higher.
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