Betway entered the Pennsylvania online casino/sports betting market with a three-day, real-money test launch that commenced Monday afternoon under state Gaming Control Board monitoring.
The longtime European operator received its licensing approval from the state agency May 19, although it had been unclear since then when it would begin serving customers and what established casino partner it would use. In Pennsylvania, both online sportsbooks and iCasinos must be tethered to one of the state’s casino operators.
While Betway did not immediately respond to a request for comment, gaming board spokesman Doug Harbach said the company gained access through an agreement with the Live! Philadelphia casino, owned by Cordish Gaming Group. Live! also has its own online casino and an agreement with FanDuel to operate the retail sportsbooks at its Philadelphia and Westmoreland County locations.
Harbach said the test period for pa.betway.com runs from 1 to 9 p.m. Monday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday, and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday. Barring the unexpected, Betway would receive approval for permanent operations to start Thursday.
Pennsylvania follows Colorado, Indiana for Betway
Betway is part of Digital Gaming Corp. USA, based in Hoboken, N.J., as the U.S. version of a brand whose roots in Europe go back to 2006. Its Pennsylvania start comes on the heels of the company’s launches in Colorado and Indiana, and it plans to open later in additional states. It has built various marketing relationships in recent months with U.S. sports entities, most notably the NHL, to begin increasing its brand awareness.
The newcomer to desktop and mobile gambling in the state, with a shared platform for sports and casino, brings the number of online sportsbooks in Pennsylvania to 13 and grows the amount of iCasino sites to 17. On Monday afternoon, the Betway casino showed 132 slots game options along with multiple versions of blackjack, roulette, baccarat, craps, three-card stud, and video poker.
Its welcome offer for new customers using casino games consisted of a 100% deposit match up to $1,000, but with a hefty 30X play-through requirement to claim the matching funds as the customer’s own. The sportsbook’s primary promotion, meanwhile, consisted of an initial risk-free bet of up to $250. If the customer’s first bet loses, their account is provided funds to make a second bet of an equivalent amount.
