Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board Blog

With the decision made by the US Supreme Court on 14th May 2018, slowly but surely, gambling in the USA will be legalised over time. This includes online gaming as well and the government needed an entity to regulate it. Thus, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, which was created back in 2004 was chosen as the organisation that will oversee gambling activities in the state. Stick with us and we will give you more information on the gaming board and the Pennsylvania gaming laws.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Board

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) was founded back in 2004 as a state-owned licencing and regulatory agency. It was responsible for overseeing slot machines and casino gambling in the state. Also known as the Pennsylvania Gaming Commission, it administers the Race Horse Development and Gaming Act (Act 71) and all of its other regulations. This is done so that credibility and integrity in Pennsylvanian casinos is achieved.

The funding of the gaming board is achieved from numerous sources, none of which are directly from taxpayers. The largest source of finances comes from slot machines revenue, but only after appropriate taxes are deducted. Below we will list a few of the funding sources for the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board:

Pennsylvania Gaming and Sports Betting – PGCB’s Take on Sports

Gambling in the state dates back to the colonial years and the Pennsylvania gaming laws have changed over the years. We would like to dedicate this section towards horse racing and sports betting as they were an immutable part of the state’s gaming history. Horse racing was the first type of gambling to be legalised in Pennsylvania with the 1959 Race Horse Industry Reform Act.

Unfortunately, until the US Supreme Court changed it in May 2018, betting on sports was either considered illegal or a grey market area. With the new decision of the Supreme Court, a new wave of legal sports betting and fantasy sports operators entered the market. Some of them are DraftKings, FanDuel, Draft and Fantasy Draft. Sports betting is also one of the main regulatory duties of the Pennsylvania Gaming Commission and all providers need to answer to the strict requirements. Hopefully, the the market will evolve more quickly and the option to bet on esports will also be legally available shortly.

PGCB Duties

In 2018, the US Supreme Court ruled that banning gambling is not constitutional and paved forth the way towards legalising it. The Court struck down the 1992 federal law making sports betting legal and also making online gambling possible. In order for everything to be regulated and prevent malicious activities, in the state of Pennsylvania, the PGCB was appointed as the main regulatory body for gambling.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is the first completely new agency to be created in over 30 years and its main duties are to ensure the public trust and confidence of the people in the state regulated gambling activities. The Pennsylvania Gaming Commission does not oversee any games of chance in the Commonwealth, such as lotteries. Here are three of the main duties of the gaming board:

• Regulation of Slot Machines thanks to their slot-machine testing centre, which was established in 2008. State casino and slot machine operators give the PGCB a list of the payouts of each machine on a monthly basis that the organisation then tests.
• Dealing with compulsive and problem gambling – The gaming board created an Office of Compulsive and Problem Gambling. Each casino operator must provide an approved compulsive and problem gambling plan before they open their business. This needs to include training of employees, self-exclusion plans, printed material and more.
• Issue licenses to land-based and online casino operators if they answer to the strict regulations and Pennsylvania gaming laws.

Pennsylvania Online Casinos – Licencing and What You Have Available

Online casino gambling in Pennsylvania has been considered legal since the end of 2017. As long as an operator answers to the regulations of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board or has a license issued by the commission, it is allowed to operate on the territory of the state and for players over 18 to participate. We have created an article just for this, where we go over the best casino sites in Pennsylvania. We also give you some tips on how to claim the bonuses there and enjoy your new gambling journey on the page. Alternatively, you can check out some of the best mini Pennsylvanian casinos for more ideas.

There are many great casino games that are available in those sites. You can enjoy everyone’s favourite category of titles – the slots. There are usually hundreds and even thousands of them available at each operator. You can also partake in a wide range of table games, such as poker, blackjack, roulette and many more. For the fans of the real experience, most reputable casinos offer live dealer sections, where you can play table games with real dealers and other players. If you would like to see the full range of possibilities there are, then feel free to also read our top casinos for US players ranking and take your pick.

FAQ Section

As our article is coming to an end, we would like to dedicate this section towards the most frequent queries that players have regarding the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, online casinos and their licensing. Make sure to go through all of them in order to avoid any future confusion.