In Pennsylvania, yesterday reportedly saw Rivers Casino Pittsburgh receive tentative approval to begin offering sportsbetting services with the downtown venue now hoping to start taking wagers as soon as the first day of next month.

Final authorization pending:

According to a Wednesday report from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette newspaper, the provisional authorization from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board came after the Pittsburgh casino owned by Rush Street Gaming agreed to pay a $10 million licensing fee and subject its future sportsbook’s technology and staff to a final approval process.

Interim facility may open next month:

The newspaper reported that Rivers Casino Pittsburgh now hopes to begin offering bettors pre-match and in-play wagers on a wide range professional and collegiate sport from December 1 utilizing a temporary facility that is being built near its existing ‘high-limit’ gaming area. After this, the venue purportedly wants to replace the lounge close to the center of its casino floor as early as June with a more permanent and larger sportsbetting facility.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the Allegheny County casino’s interim sportsbook is to feature 98 seats and 15 wall-mounted televisions positioned alongside a previously-unused cashier counter. The 3,000 sq ft area is to purportedly moreover include a selection of self-service betting kiosks as well as an adjacent bar with video poker games.

Kambi Group tie-up:

Chicago-headquartered Rush Street Gaming, which also received interim approval yesterday to bring a sportsbook to its SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia, reportedly explained that the coming Pittsburgh sportsbetting operation is to be run by its Rush Street Interactive affiliate in partnership with Maltese business-to-business gaming technologies firm Kambi Group.

Lucrative move:

The newspaper reported that the move could prove to be a lucrative step as Rivers Casino Pittsburgh is located only a few hundred yards from the 68,000-seat Heinz Field, which is the stadium for the Pittsburgh Steelers franchise of the National Football League (NFL), as well as the smaller PNC Park home of Major League Baseball’s Pittsburgh Pirates.

Slot Operations Vice-President for Rivers Casino Pittsburgh, Andre Barnabei, to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette…

“Essentially, sport is in our DNA at the property here in Pittsburgh. We are very excited.”