NetEnt lands interactive gaming licence in Pennsylvania

Swedish casino games developer NetEnt has been awarded an interactive gaming manufacturer conditional licence by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB). The new licence will enable NetEnt to deliver its portfolio of online games in the state’s regulated market. NetEnt already has deals in place with a number of customers in Pennsylvania in advance of the state launching its regulated igaming market. Parx Casino, controlled by Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment, brokered a deal with the developer last month. An agreement is also in place with casino giant Penn National Gaming, with NetEnt’s games set to be available on Penn Interactive’s Hollywood Casino website. “We are very pleased to be in the first round of approved vendors to conduct online gaming in Pennsylvania; this fits well with our strategy to be live with our products at the first day of market opening,” NetEnt Americas managing director, Erik Nyman, said. Pennsylvania has already passed laws to legalise online gaming in the state, but the PGCB is yet to announce a formal market opening date. It had been had previously been expected that online betting and gaming would launch in Pennsylvania in the first quarter of this year, after an anticipated launch at the end of 2018 was put back. Last month, NetEnt’s Nyman told iGamingBusiness.com he was hopeful that the regulated Pennsylvania market would open “sometime during Q2”. Confirmation of the Pennsylvania licence comes after NetEnt last month was also awarded a permanent Casino Service Industry Enterprise licence by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE). NetEnt has been active in New Jersey since 2015 via a transactional waiver while its full licence application was reviewed by the NJDGE, but the new licence now cements its place in the state’s regulated market. Image: S.MacMillen