Just northeast of Philadelphia, the first bet was placed at Parx Casino‘s new sportsbook on Tuesday as the Bensalem casino ran a soft launch ahead of the scheduled grand opening on Thursday.

The sportsbook’s trial run took place at what was the 360 bar and lounge inside the Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment, Inc-owned property. If the Pennsylvania Gaming Board signs off on it, the casino will formally open the temporary sportsbook for wagering tomorrow at 1pm, according to philly.com.

Plans for permanent book:

A permanent sportsbook with a hefty $10 million price tag will reportedly be constructed by the company and will open later this year next to the beer garden, said Parx’s spokesperson, Carrie Nork Minelli.

In November 2018, Kambi Group PLC (KAMBI:FN Stockholm), announced that it had agreed a multi-year deal with the owner-operator of what is Pennsylvania‘s largest casino gaming complex to supply its sports betting platform as well as a range of managed services.

Betslip Builder app:

On Tuesday, Kambi introduced Betslip Builder, a sports betting app that allows players to check odds online and to fill out a bet slip that can be scanned to cut down on wait times. As part of the agreement with Kambi, the land-based products will be integrated into a Parx-branded online sportsbook following the integration of the venue’s player account management system by British innovator GameAccount Network.

Commenting on the app, director of Kambi’s U.S. operations, Max Bichsel, said…

“It’s very helpful, allowing you to do your homework ahead of time, which sports bettors typically do.”

Planned launches:

Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment Incorporated also reportedly plans to launch sports betting at the nearby South Philadelphia Turf Club and the Valley Forge Turf Club, the Bensalem-based operator’s two off-track betting (OTB) venues.

According to the news portal, the South Philadelphia Turf Club will begin accepting wagers on January 15.

At the forefront of sportsbetting:

Pennsylvania is the seventh state to officially start accepting sports bets since the May 14, 2018 repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) by the Supreme Court.

Legislation authorizing a major expansion of gambling that was signed by Governor Tom Wolf in October 2017 included a framework to offer sports betting, should the law that placed a federal ban on sports betting change.

The first retail sportsbook to go live in Pennsylvania was at Hollywood Casino, which officially launched The Sportsbook at Hollywood Casino Penn National on November 17, 2018, while Rivers Casino and SugarHouse Casino both fully opened their sportsbooks on December 15, 2018.

Applications have been submitted by Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino & Racetrack in Chester and Valley Forge Casino in King of Prussia, and both have been conditionally approved for the $10 million license.