Pennsylvania has seen rapid expansion of online gambling in the past year. All forms of gambling are available online. Online casinos, sports betting and bingo can be played by residents of Pennsylvania. Both onshore and offshore are available.
The minimum legal gambling age to play online is 21.
Online Gambling
- Pennsylvania State Lottery holds an exclusive license over lottery products
- Land based casinos are commercially operated (11 casinos in total; nine (9) licensed slot operators)
- Racetrack casinos operated on a commercial basis
- Land based and online sports betting is permitted at licensed casinos and racetracks
- Land based casino operators are permitted to offer online casino games (including poker)
Best 5 Pennsylvania Online Live Casinos
| CASINO | RATING | BONUS | PLAY | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 
El Royale Casino
|
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| 2 | 
Bovada
|
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100% up to $3,000 Welcome Bonus |
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| 3 | 
Vegas Casino Online
|
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|
400% up to $10,000 Welcome Bonus |
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| 4 | 
Slots Empire
|
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|
220% up to $12,000 Welcome Bonus |
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| 5 | 
Red Dog Casino
|
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|
225% up to $12,250 Welcome Bonus |
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Online casino activity is currently available and offered through various sites that are based offshore. These sites are safe and secure to play at, with no risk posed to Pennsylvania players, both regarding legality or to player data protection.
The best online casinos all use the latest SSL internet technology, and feature secure payment methods that are common, trusted and processed by reputable financial institutions. These include: VISA, MasterCard, Amex, Bitcoin (BTC), direct wire transfers and many other methods.
Casino Bonuses are extremely important in selecting an online casino. We have therefore displayed some of the best casino bonuses that can be found whilst balancing other important criteria such as safety and security as previously mentioned. However, for ease of reference, we have listed them according to the size of bonus.
Without doubt, at the time of writing, El Royale Casino offers the best casino bonus deal. It is also one of the safest. Coupled with excellent customer service, El Royale is our top recommended online casino for Pennsylvania players.
Sports Betting
Online sports betting sites, however, do exist and they are based offshore. They accept Pennsylvania bettors, with no precedence of any bettor being informed of a breach in law, let alone charged with a misdemeanor or felony.
Daily Fantasy Sports
Daily Fantasy Sports is growing fast in popularity. New to the gambling scene, it is considered a game of skill by many which requires bettors to create a fictitious team based on real players. The performance of the real sports players in real life determine how successful the fictitious team is. As a result, it truly is those with the most “skills” will win.
The two dominate daily fantasy sports providers is DraftKings and FanDuel. On this site, we do not actively promote daily fantasy sports as we understand that it is a game of “skill” which is being exploited by bettors who have the best risk modelling. That is, it isn’t nearly about how well you know your sport, the sport players etc, it is very much about who has the best statistical model and who has access to the most detailed sports player data.
As someone who may be a big fan of sport, and thinking that they would have a good chance of winning money in DFS, think again. You are pitted against statistical modelling experts who deliberately target games that mostly have new players to DFS. In fact, it has been alleged that those who are extremely good at DFS have been known to collaborate among themselves and not compete with each other. Thereby creating a sustainable winning formula shared by the experts.
We therefore want our readers to be aware that DFS is not what is appears to be. In fairness, DFS is legal in Pennsylvania and many DFS onshore operators accept Pennsylvania players.
Top 3 Pennsylvania Online Bingo Sites
Pennsylvania bingo laws are stipulated under Charitable gaming state legislation. These laws provide for the licensing of non profit organizations to operate bingo games. At present, these laws do not address nor permit online bingo by onshore operators. Accordingly, online bingo sites that do accept Pennsylvania players are based offshore (which is the same as online casinos and sports betting sites).
The recommended online bingo sites all accept players from Pennsylvania. They offer advanced features that include instant messaging, fun bingo games and protocols that ensures bingo participants play together in a civil enjoyable manner. Due to the social aspect of bingo, there is a cultural aspect to bingo which cannot be found with casino or sports betting. As an example, A LOT of acronyms form part of instant chat messaging. If you are not familiar with online bingo lingo, do not be afraid, learning it is one of the most fun parts!
Legal Minimum Gambling Age
- 21 for casino games, online casinos, poker, online poker and online sports betting
- 18 for bingo, lottery, race betting and online bingo
Gambling Laws
State lottery, land based casinos and racetrack casinos offer slots, table games and sports betting both in person and online.
Slot machines are permitted at 14 licensed establishments
- seven racetrack casinos
- five slot parlors
- two land based casinos
Land based and online sports betting was authorised and regulated in June 2018 following the overturning of PASPA
Pari-mutuel wagering and charitable gaming are permitted
Gambling Taxes
- Casino Gaming (land based and online)
- Slot machines are taxed at 54% of gross win
- Table games (including poker) are taxed at 16% of gross win
- Sports betting (land based and online) is taxed at 36% of gross win
Regulation and Governance
Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB)
Gambling Legislation
Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes
Is it legal to gamble online in Pennsylvania?
Gambling laws vary for each type of game. Online games are not permitted to be offered by onshore gaming operators. As a result, online operators are based offshore at regulated and licensed jurisdictions. Pennsylvania players are accepted by the offshore operators. In regards, to player legality, the laws neither explicitly declare online gambling as illegal or legal. As a result Pennsylvania players can continue to enjoy playing online games.
What is the legal minimum age to play at online casinos?
Legal minimum ages vary from online casino to online casino, however their requirement is that the higher of the player’s jurisdiction the the online casino’s own legal minimum is taken to be the determine age limit. Therefore, for Pennsylvania players the legal minimum age is 21.