Pennsylvania licensed casinos are the only online casinos that may legally accept players inside the state. The licence comes from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, and it cannot be held by an online brand on its own: every operator runs under a certificate tied to one of the state’s seventeen land-based casinos.
Pennsylvania allows up to thirty-nine online casino licences, all of which are currently issued, which is why twenty-four platforms compete here. That is more than any other US state, and it makes verifying a site’s licence more useful than it might sound.
This page covers what the licence requires of an operator, how to check that a casino holds one, what protections come with it, and how a licensed site differs from the offshore and sweepstakes alternatives the PGCB has moved against. For the wider market picture, including revenue data and how the law developed, see our guide to online casinos in Pennsylvania.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board was established in 2004 to regulate the land-based industry, and the interactive gaming framework created by the Expanded Gaming Act of 2017 was built on top of that existing machinery.
The PGCB licenses operators, platform providers and suppliers, tests games and devices, audits finances, sets cybersecurity standards, and enforces responsible gambling rules. Unlike New Jersey, there is no separate commission granting licences.
An online brand cannot hold a Pennsylvania licence alone. It must operate under a certificate held by one of the seventeen land-based casinos. With thirty-nine online licences permitted and all issued, most properties run several online brands.
Pennsylvania levies some of the highest iGaming taxes in the country: 54% on online slot revenue, 16% on table games and poker. That burden is one reason the regulator has been unwilling to tolerate unlicensed competition.
Because every brand runs under a certificate held by a land-based casino, the quickest check is to look at which Pennsylvania property a site partners with. The pairings below follow the PGCB operator register.
| Land-based casino | Licensed online brands |
|---|---|
| Hollywood Casino at Penn National | DraftKings, BetMGM, Hollywood Casino, Fanatics |
| Rivers Casino Philadelphia | BetRivers, Borgata, SugarHouse |
| Harrah’s Philadelphia | Caesars Palace, Horseshoe, Tropicana |
| Valley Forge Casino Resort | FanDuel, Stardust |
| Parx Casino | betParx Casino |
| Mount Airy Casino Resort | PokerStars |
| Mohegan Sun Pocono | Mohegan Sun Online Casino |
| Presque Isle Downs | bet365 Casino |
| Live! Casino Philadelphia and Pittsburgh | PlayLive! Casino |
| Wind Creek Bethlehem | Wind Creek Casino |
| The Casino at Nemacolin | BetRivers, SugarHouse |
The protections attached to a PGCB licence sit in regulation rather than in an operator’s terms and conditions, and the board has a long enforcement record behind them.
Licensed operators keep player funds separate from operating capital. Every game is certified by an independent testing laboratory, most often GLI or eCOGRA, and slots must publish their return-to-player percentage so the published figure can be checked against the game itself.
If a licensed casino treats you unfairly, the PGCB investigates and can fine an operator or act against its licence. The board also maintains an involuntary exclusion list and has used it against players committing online gambling fraud, which cuts both ways but shows the oversight is active.
Pennsylvania runs a self-exclusion programme covering both online play and physical venues, with terms of one year, five years or life. Enrolment is through the PGCB website or in person at one of its offices with photo identification.
Regulators began rolling out stricter identity verification requirements for casino and sports wagering accounts in January 2026, aimed at reducing fraud, duplicate accounts and underage access.
Two kinds of site accept Pennsylvania players without a PGCB licence: offshore casinos, and sweepstakes platforms. They differ from each other, but both sit outside the state framework.
| PGCB licensed | Offshore | |
|---|---|---|
| Regulator | PGCB licence and enforcement | None with jurisdiction over PA players |
| Game testing | Certified by GLI or eCOGRA | Varies, often self-declared |
| RTP disclosure | Required on every slot | Rarely published |
| Dispute route | PGCB investigates complaints | Operator’s own process only |
| Self-exclusion | Statewide programme covers all licensees | Not covered |
| Age and location checks | 21+, GeoComply enforced | Frequently minimal |
Sweepstakes platforms are a separate category. Pennsylvania has no statute banning them, but the PGCB classifies them as unlicensed gambling and issued cease-and-desist letters to 18 operators in April 2025. All 18 complied, with names such as Stake.us and McLuck leaving the state. The board has no prosecutorial authority and has asked legislators for stronger powers, so the position remains unresolved rather than settled.
Licensed Pennsylvania sites display their PGCB licence number, and that number can be matched against the board’s public register of interactive gaming operators. Every legal brand also runs under a certificate held by one of the state’s seventeen land-based casinos, so checking the partner property is another quick test.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board handles the whole process. Unlike New Jersey, where one body grants licences and another enforces them, the PGCB licenses operators, platform providers and suppliers, tests games, audits finances, sets cybersecurity standards and takes enforcement action.
Thirty-nine, and all are currently issued. In practice that means twenty-four licensed platforms run by twenty-two brands, since some operators hold more than one. It is a far more open market than Michigan, where the statutory maximum is fifteen.
You can take the complaint to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, which investigates and can fine an operator or act against its licence. That route is the practical difference between a licensed site and an offshore one, where the operator’s own process is the only option available to you.
No, residency is not the requirement. What matters is where you are when you play. Licensed operators run GeoComply location checks and block real money play from outside state lines, so a visitor inside Pennsylvania can play while a resident travelling elsewhere cannot. You must also be 21 or over.
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