Pennsylvania Online Casinos: Who, What & Where?

Breadth of Casino Style iGaming in PA

Pennsylvania first passed online gambling laws in 2017, then began issuing licenses in 2019. Since then, a total of 12 online gambling websites have been launched in the state. While the types of iGaming formally legalized cover a wide variety of wagering verticals, it may surprise you to learn that every single one of them has chosen to incorporate casino style games into their operation. This wasn’t by chance (pardon the pun). It was a calculated decision based on the simple fact that casino games are the most historically popular form of wagering in the Keystone state.

For your convenience, a complete list of PA iGaming operators that conduct online casino games is provided below.

What PA Online Casinos Have to Offer

While every iGaming operator in PA fits into the online casino category, they don’t all offer the same variety of casino style games. In fact, most of them have chosen different software companies to represent their service.

Anyone familiar with the global internet casino market knows that there are dozens of major software brands, and many more third-party suppliers, serving up digital gambling amusements for the industry. Each company develops its own games. Operators can choose to license the software of one or more gaming studios, thereby offering a unique selection of titles to their customers.

When we think of casino games, we think of slot machines, blackjack, roulette, maybe baccarat or video poker. These are the most common games of all, and rest assured, every one of Pennsylvania’s recently authorized internet casino websites offers them. But the selection doesn’t have to stop there.

When state lawmakers decided to authorize iGaming, they took into consideration all of the games previously authorized for land-based operators, and extended the same verbiage of state law to their digital cousins.

While everyone generally understands what a slot machine is, the term “table games” can be incredibly vague. Fortunately, the Statues of Pennsylvania clarify what games are permissible by state law.

According to PA § 1103 Definitions:

Table Game

“Any banking or nonbanking game approved by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. The term includes roulette, baccarat, blackjack, poker, craps, big six wheel, mini-baccarat, red dog, pai gow, twenty-one, casino war, acey-ducey, sic bo, chuck-a-luck, Panguingue, Fan-tan, Asia poker, Boston 5 stud poker, Caribbean stud poker, Colorado hold’em poker, double attack blackjack, double cross poker, double down stud poker, fast action hold’em, flop poker, four card poker, let it ride poker, mini-craps, mini-dice, pai gow poker, pokette, Spanish 21, Texas hold’em bonus poker, three card poker, two card joker poker, ultimate Texas hold’em, winner’s pot poker and any other banking or nonbanking game.”

For further clarification, the following definitions are also provided:

Banking Game

“Any table game in which a player competes against a certificate holder rather than against another player.”

Nonbanking Game

“Any table game in which a player competes against another player and in which the certificate holder collects a rake.”

PA Internet Casinos by Game Variety

After in depth examination of each PA licensed online casino, we’ve come up with the Top 3 list of operations by the number of games available. They are:

All remaining operators have anywhere from an estimated 80 to 160. It’s also worth noting that BetRivers Casino and Play SugarHouse casino are sister-sites, mirrors of one another that are owned and operated by the same companies. Aside from the variable themes and color schemes of their individual websites, what they have to offer their members is exactly the same. Therefore, we will only bother comparing the top two operator son the list.

Caesars Casino vs. BetRivers

As you can see, Caesars Casino clearly has the upper hand in terms of sheer volume. Caesars has 10 blackjack variants, as opposed to BetRivers 2. However, BetRivers offers minimum table stakes of $0.10 on its highest 99.6% RTP blackjack, while Caesars set what they call “micro limits” of $2.50 on its low-edge variant.

Caesars also offers a larger variety of roulette games, but both websites offer French Roulette with the La Partage rule; the most commonly sought variant for its low 1.35% edge. And again, Caesars takes the cake in less common table games, with titles like Ultimate Texas Holdem, Fortune Pai Gow, Three Card Poker, Let It Ride and Mississippi Stud, among others. BetRivers focuses only on the most popular varieties.

Yes, Caesar wins the volume category, but when it comes to diversity, the award goes to BetRivers Casino. You see, Caesars inked a deal with two major software brands, IGT and NetEnt, to supply an extensive portfolio of games to their customers. BetRivers contracted the same foremost brands, IGT and NetEnt, plus a few smaller companies that include AGS Interactive, Eibic, Everi, Konami, NextGen, Scientific Games, ShuffleMaster and WMS.

As for why BetRivers has a smaller list of games, it’s because they chose to supply only the most popular titles from their major brands; games like Gonzo’s Quest, Wheel of Fortune Triple Extreme Spin, and the Divine Fortune Mega Jackpot progressive.