PENN Entertainment has launched a standalone Hollywood Casino app in Pennsylvania, the company announced on Wednesday afternoon.
PENN Entertainment discontinued a third-party Hollywood Casino platform when ESPN BET launched in the Keystone State in November 2023. The online casino was only available through the casino since.
Going live with a standalone app had always been a top priority for CEO Jay Snowden, who said the app would be ready in “early 2025,” during the company’s Q3 2024 earnings call last month. Looks like Christmas came early for PENN, as well as Pennsylvania online casino players.
Aaron LaBerge, PENN’s Chief Technology Officer , said in a statement emailed to PlayPennsylvania:
“We’re excited to launch Hollywood Casino as a stand-alone app in Pennsylvania, giving our customers access to their favorite games in a dedicated, casino-first experience.
“With four Hollywood Casino properties in the state, the app leverages our trusted retail brand and creates a seamless connection between our online and retail gaming experiences.
“We look forward to bringing this enhanced Hollywood Casino experience to more iCasino markets in early 2025, pending regulatory approvals.”
What the new Hollywood app looks like
While Hollywood isn’t new to the market, an entirely new platform is. The company said that the online casino is available for Android, iOS and desktop users. The current platform in the ESPN BET sportsbook remains the same, too.
Customers, using the same credentials as their ESPN BET accounts, are going to be greeted with more than 700 total games, spanning from slots, table games and live dealer titles. The casino has just over 600 slots, which include the following “Trending” games:
- Hollywood Casino Respin
- Bruno’s Vegas Gold Blitz
- Billionaires Bank
- Candy Paradise
Hollywood Casino consists of original titles from PENN’s in-house studios and relationships with game manufacturers.
Live dealer games are another important aspect of the iGaming industry. Hollywood is offering new titles with specific themes, too. Some of those include:
- Stock Market
- Phillies Blackjack
- Crazy Time
- Football Studio
PENN Entertainment to focus on cross-sell with new launch
PENN has a huge presence in the Keystone State. Not only is its headquarters in Wyomissing, the company has four retail locations spread across the Commonwealth. Those are:
- Penn National Race Course
- The Meadows
- York
- Morgantown
While LaBerge touched on it briefly, Snowden talked at length in November about the plan for the new online platform. He described it as cleaning up a mess.
“What we’re doing right now is messy, because you’re marketing to your land-based casino database at Hollywood properties, and telling them that they should download the ESPN bet app to play their favorite slot machine.
“We’ve watched our competition launch standalone iCasino apps with great success and many times it was the same brand.
“It’s not only leading with iCasino in that app, but it’s also the brand connection which is going to be, I think, will be pretty powerful for us.”
Snowden said that the third-party app yielded in the “high single digits” of market share. It would be expected that the operator could acquire at least that, maybe more.
The launch certainly came as a surprise for those in the industry, as Snowden had his sights set on “early 2025.” Getting the green light from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, Snowden didn’t waste anytime going live.
The operator is getting a head start before the start of a new, and important year for PENN.
