Most all Pennsylvania sports fans understand there are a variety of simple and easy ways to bet on football games.
They also know there are a growing number of places Pennsylvania residents can now place those bets.
Legal PA sports betting launched in November 2018 when the William Hill sportsbook at Hollywood Casino opened up.
Three more retail sportsbooks have opened up open across the state since then. Each work with Kambi to offer the sportsbook, kiosks, and eventually online betting. These are:
Additionally, Harrah’s Philadelphia is putting the finishing touches on a sportsbook of its own it plans to open sometime in January. Plus, Valley Forge Casino Resort is targeting March for the launch of a sportsbook with partner FanDuel.
Checking the lines in PA
There are no PA sports betting apps up and running along with retail sportsbooks. Currently traveling to New Jersey to bet on apps are the best online option. It may seem like competition for the PA brick and mortar sportsbooks, but in actuality, they can help you place your retail bets.
In fact, NJ sports betting apps may be the best way for Pennsylvanians to check the lines on games at PA sportsbooks. That is, outside of taking a trip to the sportsbook itself.
The fact is that several NJ mobile sports betting apps use the same software, sports information services, and therefore, the same lines that PA retail sportsbooks do.
Rush Street Gaming owns and operates the PlaySugarHouse Sportsbook app in NJ and the sportsbooks at Rivers and SugarHouse in PA. All three also employ Kambi software and the same Kambi-set lines.
Additionally, PA’s first sportsbook at Hollywood Casino is run by William Hill. Therefore, a quick check of the William Hill NJ sports betting app will also tell you where the lines stand in Grantville.
Parx lets you queue up your bets from home
Kambi and Parx took the additional step of creating a betting slip feature you can access from your home computer, tablet, or phone.
The page gives you every game they are spreading and the odds. You can even go a step further and actually create a ticket to show at the counter. Parx Sportsbook employees will scan the QR code on your ticket and issue you a betting slip.
This bet builder also means you can decide what you want to bet on your phone while at the sportsbook and have it queued up ready to go when you get to the counter.
While this may not seem super useful to those accustomed to online betting, this is a step above what other PA casinos are offering in the interim between retail and online betting launch.
Shopping around for the best lines
One of the keys to effective sports wagering is shopping around for the best lines.
Online, some sites will do the legwork for you, collecting the latest information about lines posted by various sports betting operations.
Right now, The Lines publishes info on the latest lines at PlaySugarHouse, FanDuel Sportsbook and DraftKings Sportsbook in NJ. Consequently, that also makes it a one-stop shop for anyone in PA that wants to check lines at Rivers, SugarHouse or Parx. Plus, it’ll be the place to go for the FanDuel Sportsbook at Valley Forge when it opens as well.
Sports betting with a mobile device
By the time the FanDuel Sportsbook at Valley Forge opens its doors, online and mobile sports betting will hopefully be up and running in the Keystone State.
For now, however, Pennsylvanians need to cross the state line into New Jersey to bet on a mobile device. There, they will find eight NJ online and mobile sports betting operations offering lines on NFL playoff games and just about everything else. These are:
- PlaySugarHouse
- FanDuel Sportsbook
- William Hill
- FoxBet
- Caesars
- DraftKings Sportsbook
- 888 Sport
- playMGM Sports
All NJ sports betting apps use geolocation software to make sure all the bets they take are coming from inside New Jersey.
