Pennsylvania Mini Casinos – Satellite Gambling Halls

Pennsylvania mini casinos, a.k.a satellite gambling halls were authorized in October 2017 as a separate category in the state’s gambling law section. That bill allows housing up to 30 table games and between 300-750 slot machines. They can be built only by license holders, which helps PA’s land-based slots licensees to physically extend through the purchase of a Category 4 satellite casino license. Mini casinos in Pennsylvania already rank the state as the No. 2 commercial betting location in the US with its $3.2 billion in gambling revenue for the past fiscal year.

PA mini casinos are considered category 4 and licenses for those facilities will be gained by auctions with a bid of a minimum of $7.5 million. A maximum of 30 table games can be offered for a fee of $2.5 million. The satellite gambling destinations can gain up to 10 additional tables after a year of operation and only after Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board approval.

Gambling Bill Allowing the Mini Casinos in Pennsylvania

Gov. Tom Wolf makes sure that more mini casinos in PA are about to emerge. His major gambling expansion bill will bring the state an additional $200 million and even more from taxes and license fees. There are ten new licenses up for grabs, where five are already in the hands of investors, but more on that in a bit. Wolf’s legislation has a set of certain parameters that potential owners need to meet in order to operate a satellite casino in PA. They sift who is eligible, when to bid, how long the application filing can take, how Pennsylvania will keep tabs on the new facilities and so on.

Category 4 Licensed Mini Casinos in PA

These and the future new Pennsylvania mini casinos will be between one-third to one-fourth the size of the state’s main gambling halls. Although PA has some of the best small gambling facilities in the world, they offer some amazing advantages. The amenities offered will be fewer, but they will include dining and bar areas. Some of them might even manage to include entertainment centers and sportsbooks.

PA Satellite Casinos – Location Pinpoints

PA mini casinos cannot be located within 25 miles of existing local gambling halls. In Pennsylvania, this number is set at 12 till now. Nonetheless, every rule has exceptions. In this case, the state bends the distance permits a bit. The local winning bidder could place a satellite casino within 25 miles of its own gambling hall. Let’s take Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem for example – when it won bidding for a mini casino license, the state allowed its new facility to be located within 25 miles of the main Bethlehem betting location.

There are counties that cannot host Pennsylvania mini casinos. They are Carbon, Wayne, Fayette, Montgomery (Valley Forge Casino Resort lands) and Pike (Lady Luck Casino lands). Each town can ensure that a casino doesn’t locate there. We talk about adopting a resolution, which will prohibit a PA satellite casino within its lands. Each municipality needs to deliver such resolution to Board Secretary Pamela Lewis by the end of the year. The location of mini casinos in PA is the main issue causing the competitive nature of the auction processes.

Taxation for Mini Casinos Pennsylvania

The state of Pennsylvania holds the second position when it comes to commercial casino revenue. Their 12 casinos were a bit behind Nevada, with their annual $3.4 billion revenue for 2019, according to the American Gaming Association. That same year, the state launched the first online casinos, as a token for gambling development. Their example was followed by the state next door. The list of legal casinos in New Jersey keeps on growing and makes the gambling journey as exciting as in Pennsylvania. PA reached first position in tax revenue though with $1.5 billion for the past year from land-based parlors only. That tendency will keep the scales in favor of PA, as every winning bid, fees and taxes related to all mini casinos in Pennsylvania will go into the Pennsyvania general fund.

The moment each satellite casino opens its doors, reels will be taxed at a rate of 50% plus another 4% of gross terminal revenue will be split between the host county and municipality. The regular table games will be taxed at 14% and the fully automated electronic table games will be taxed at 34%. Find out more about the PA Gaming Control Board in our blog post and find out more details on how it regulates the gambling floor in the state.

FAQ Regarding PA Mini Casinos

We have reached the part where our blog post concentrates on the most frequently asked questions about Pennsylvania mini casinos. We did the best we could to keep the answers short, informative and easy to read. You will find all the necessary information on the matter. Here is what our readers have asked.