Categories: Casino News
| Published On Feb 6, 2018 11:21 am CET  |  Updated on May 2, 2021 12:19 pm CEST | By iGaming Team

Pennsylvania State Gambling Board to auction mini-casino license

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6 county municipalities of Franklin have opened their doors for the establishment of mini-casinos. 

Pennsylvania lawmakers approved a gambling expansion bill in 2017 which gave a new twist to PA gambling. Pennsylvania State Gaming Board on Tuesday would be holding its third auction on Tuesday. Ten such auctions are scheduled to take place after every two weeks.

A mini-casino can have 300 to 750 slot machines with up to 10 table games. It’s about tenth the size of a large casino, like Hollywood Casino near Harrisburg.

The construction of two mini-casinos are already on the way, Mountainview Thorough Racing Association LLC and Stadium Casino  LLC submitted their winning bid in the previous auctions.

Mountainview Thorough Racing Association LLC and Stadium Casino LLC submitted a winning bid of $50.1 million on January 10. The company proposed the building of a mini casino in the York area within a 15-mile radius of Yoe, York County. The Mountainview owns Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course near Grantville. Likewise, Stadium Casino LLC bid a winning $40.1 million on January 24. Its mini casino would be operating near Pittsburg within a 15-mile radius if a point in Derry Township, Westmoreland County. The national gaming partnership is developing a $600 million casino near Philadelphia.

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Pennsylvania currently has 12 casinos and now it plans to boost the industry by opening mini-casinos as well. Two companies have already gained permit for establishment of mini-casinos, and if one has to judge by the early sale price of the first pair of permits, it would be worth adding that the remaining eight could sell for even more than that as the casino owners are avid to compete with each to win the bid.

The potential benefits and jobs appealed to Washington Township supervisors, but the township faces long odds. A mini-casino offers fees of up to $1.6 million a year to host municipality which is based on the current receipts for slots and games in Pennsylvania.

The first two auctions for a mini-casino license have already garnered $90.2 million. This success points out to the fact that these mini-casinos are way more valuable than one could have thought.