DraftKings Casino games offer all the fun of the casino floor in the palm of your hand. Play top online casino games from your Android Device anywhere online gambling is legal and DraftKings Casino is live. Getting started is easy — it just takes a few clicks to get in on the action.
- The DraftKings Casino in PA underwent a soft launch period Wednesday and Thursday ahead of its full-scale opening on Friday. The casino comes to Pennsylvania players via a partnership with Penn National, which also owns the Hollywood Casino, which is expected to continue to operate independely from DraftKings.
- DraftKings stood at the ready and has since launched full-scale online offerings to Pennsylvania players. The company launched sports betting in Pennsylvania under the casino license of Penn National Gaming. The sportsbook opened in November of 2019. Now, with the addition of an online casino, DraftKings rounds out its portfolio in Pennsylvania.
- DraftKings Sportsbook users can wager on the vast majority of teams, sports and events. However, some state betting regulations prohibit wagering on certain sports or athletic events. New Jersey and New Hampshire, for example, do not allow betting on collegiate sports teams from within their jurisdictions. These prohibited bets will not be shown.
- DraftKings Casino games offer all the fun of the casino floor in the palm of your hand. Play a full roster of top online casino games from your Android or iOS Device anywhere online gambling is legal and DraftKings Casino is live. Getting started is easy — it just takes a few clicks to get in on the action.
Contents
It has been a very busy time in the relatively new-born Pennsylvanian gambling industry and that continued with the recent news that fantasy sports giant DraftKings were set to launch its online casino product, in association with Penn National Gaming site Hollywood Casino, in the state in early May.
The site will feature a host of different table games including Blackjack, Roulette, and different forms of poker. As is the case with most online casinos, slot games will also make up a significant number of attractions on the site.
The move is a further diversification away from the business’ core Fantasy Sports offering. In addition to extending its selection of fantasy sports still further (see below), the company has also been expanding into new fantasy realms including fantasy esports gaming, featuring some of the top esports games within the industry.
Access to the DraftKings Casino
At the moment, there is no standalone way to access the DraftKings Casino. Customers can access it using the freely downloadable DraftKings Sportsbook app, which is available for both iOS and Android devices.
The app has recently been updated to incorporate the additional offering of DraftKings Casino, although only for customers in Pennsylvania at present.
Busy Year
It has already been a busy year at DraftKings. They launched a DraftKings Nation Partnership with SB Nation back in January and followed that up a short time later by becoming the official betting partner of New York’s famous Madison Square Gardens.
Then in March, they began to offer Daily CS:GO Fantasy Esports offering to run alongside their League of Legends Esports games and in April, the company sponsored eNASCAR Fantasy by putting up $300,000 in prize money for customers to compete for.
Other Big Changes at DraftKings
In addition to the items listed above and the unveiling of its new online casino in Pennsylvania, DraftKings have been busy with a number of different aspects of their site, particularly developing their Fantasy Sports and Fantasy Esports options.
While DraftKings was initially renowned for its extensive range of fantasy sports, focusing mainly on American-based sports, the company has radically extended the number of options it now offers fantasy gaming on to include Hockey, MMA, Collegiate level sports, Australian Rules football, and Tennis.
Alongside this there are also opportunities for esports fantasy fans to indulge their passion for CS:GO fantasy games, Fantasy League of Legends, and Fantasy Rocket League to name but three available now on the site.
The explosion of esports is now gathering pace. Not only are we now seeing esports given a more prominent place in the television schedules, but it is also seeing a surge in interest in terms of esports betting, while you can now even find esports casino games with some providers as well as the esports fantasy games outlined above.
DraftKings new online casino means that an increasing number of people can now enjoy the special type of wagering games that DraftKings offers, as well as their wide choice of casino games and it seems likely that the site will be expanded outside of Pennsylvania relatively soon.
DraftKings continues to show it will not rest on its laurels. The DFS and online sportsbook giant just became a publicly traded company on Friday. On May 1, DraftKings will be going live with its online casino product in Pennsylvania.
At the PGCB meeting Wednesday morning, DraftKings petitioned for an Interactive Gaming Operator License. A DraftKings representative confirmed to PlayPA they received approval from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board and are now ready to go, pending a successful soft launch.
Tim Dent, Chief Compliance Officer of DraftKings provided the following statement:
“DraftKings appreciates the collaborative working relationship we have established with the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board and thanks them for their thoughtful leadership in creating a consumer-focused, competitive iGaming market. We look forward to successfully completing the soft launch phase of the process and receiving our iGaming license so that we can be fully operational in Pennsylvania on May 1.”
The soft launch is planned for Wednesday from 2-10 p.m. and Thursday from 1-11 p.m., a DraftKings representative told PlayPA.
DraftKings already has a robust online casino in New Jersey, under the Resorts Atlantic City license. That launched back in December 2018, a few months after its online sportsbook went live in the Garden State.
In New Jersey, the casino is integrated with the online sportsbook app. Whether that will be the case in Pennsylvania remains to be seen.
A Penn National land-based partner
In Pennsylvania, online gambling products need a land-based casino partner with an online gaming license. DraftKings’ sportsbook partner, Meadows Racetrack & Casino, did not apply for an online casino license when it had the chance.
That was likely because the owner, Penn National, also owns Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course, which does have an online casino license.
Because PA gaming law allows for multiple online casino skins under a single operator license, Penn would only need the one. Penn was the first to launch an online casino in PA, with Hollywood Casino going live in July 2019.
Penn also has a market-access agreement with DraftKings, making them the obvious partner of choice. With nine online casinos now live in PA, DraftKings will throw its hat into the ring and likely operate under Hollywood’s license.
Unlike the two skins of Rivers Casino Philadelphia – PlaySugarHouse and BetRivers – Hollywood’s two casinos aren’t likely to be clones of each other.
Draftkings Casino Partners
What to expect from DraftKings Casino PA
What Pennsylvanians can expect from the new DraftKings Casino is a high quality product and generous promotions to go with strong brand recognition.
If the NJ version is any indication, DraftKings Casino PA will offer a wide array of online slots, as well as video poker and table games like blackjack and roulette. DraftKings also has a robust offering of live dealer games in the Garden State, which will likely be replicated eventually in PA.
The other DFS leader, FanDuel, successfully followed its sportsbook launch with an online casino in PA at the end of January. The brand recognition and built-in sportsbook customer base proved fruitful for FanDuel, which was the leading operator in total play and revenue in its first full month in operation.
DraftKings has remained the No. 2 behind sportsbook leader FanDuel, which typically brings in around twice the amount of handle.
Still, with online casino continuing its ascent, and total play and revenue peaking in March, there’s no reason that DraftKings couldn’t make a big splash in the iGaming scene immediately. Competition for market share is on the rise though in the Keystone State.
Already this year, BetRivers, BetAmerica, FanDuel, and most recently Caesars Casino, all joined the PA market. So DraftKings will have its work cut out for it in that respect.
Solidifying a strong position in the PA market
Also on the PGCB docket for April 29, DraftKings is applying for a Sports Wagering Operator License. This may seem out of place as DraftKings has been operating a sportsbook in PA since early November, 2019.
But the initial approval that allowed DraftKings to enter the market was conditional. With Wednesday’s PGCB approval, DraftKings has approval to operate for five more years.
DraftKings may be joining a crowded online casino market in PA, but the joint sportsbook-iGaming offering should prove beneficial for the company as it has for its DFS counterpart.
Draftkings Casino Pa Online
The strengthened competition should also benefit online casino patrons in PA, who had quite limited iGaming options mere months ago. That is far from the case now, and even more so once DraftKings launches on Friday.
Editor’s Note: This story was updated on April 29 with new information following the PGCB approval of DraftKings’ online casino license petition.