Pennsylvania is the second-biggest casino state in America after Nevada, and the one that does everything: eighteen licensed casinos from the Philadelphia waterfront to Erie, six racetracks, the largest regulated online casino market in the country, eleven online sportsbooks and a poker network that shares players with New Jersey and Michigan. This guide starts where a trip does — the floors, the hotels, the tables worth sitting at — then covers the apps, the rules and the small print. You must be 21 or over for casinos, sports betting and online play, and physically inside the state for anything online.
Pennsylvania casinos, region by region
Every casino below holds a Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board license. The first eleven are full-scale casinos; the five “Category 4” mini-casinos and the two resort casinos are smaller by law, which matters if you are driving for a poker room or a craps table.
Philadelphia and the suburbs
Parx Casino Bensalem
2999 Street Road, Bensalem, PA 19020 · (888) 588-7279
The biggest floor in the state, twenty minutes up I-95 from Center City: around 150,000 square feet, more than 3,000 slots, roughly 180 live tables and a 48-table poker room that is the busiest in Pennsylvania. Thoroughbred racing on the same property (the Pennsylvania Derby runs here every September), a retail sportsbook, the Xcite Center concert hall and the Parxview Hotel next to the casino.
Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia Stadium District
900 Packer Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19148
The newest big casino in the city (2021), a walk from the Eagles, Phillies, Flyers and Sixers venues. More than 2,100 slots and electronic tables, around 150 live tables, a 29-table poker room, a FanDuel Sportsbook lounge and a 208-room hotel tower — the natural base for a game weekend.
Rivers Casino Philadelphia Fishtown
1001 North Delaware Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19125 · (877) 477-3715
The city’s first casino (opened 2010 as SugarHouse), on the Delaware River at the edge of Fishtown’s bar-and-restaurant strip. A 45,000-square-foot floor, a poker room, the BetRivers Sportsbook and an event center; no hotel, which keeps it a locals’ casino rather than a resort.
Harrah’s Philadelphia Chester
777 Harrah’s Boulevard, Chester, PA 19013 · (800) 480-8020
Caesars’ racino on the Delaware south-west of the city: slots, tables, a Caesars Sportsbook and a harness-racing track with live meets. Caesars Rewards members get the most out of it; there is no hotel on site.
Valley Forge Casino Resort King of Prussia
1160 First Avenue, King of Prussia, PA 19406 · (610) 354-8118
A Boyd Gaming resort casino beside the King of Prussia Mall and Valley Forge National Historical Park: two hotel towers with 486 rooms, a 40,000-square-foot floor capped by its resort license at 600 slots and 50 tables, a FanDuel Sportsbook and a big conference operation. The pick when you want a hotel-first weekend with a casino attached.
Lehigh Valley and the Poconos
Wind Creek Bethlehem Bethlehem
77 Wind Creek Boulevard, Bethlehem, PA 18015 · (877) 726-3777
Built on the Bethlehem Steel site under the old blast furnaces, an hour from Philadelphia and ninety minutes from New York. One of the largest floors in the state (about 139,000 square feet), thousands of slots, more than 150 live tables including a live-dealer stadium, a poker room, a sportsbook, an AAA Four Diamond hotel, an outlet mall and a 3,000-seat event center. The most complete casino resort in eastern Pennsylvania.
Mount Airy Casino Resort Mount Pocono
312 Woodland Road, Mount Pocono, PA 18344 · (877) 682-4791
The Poconos’ casino resort and the state’s only adults-only (21+) property: an AAA Four Diamond hotel, spa, 18-hole golf course, indoor-outdoor pool and a 62,000-square-foot floor with around 1,800 slots, 70-plus tables, a 12-table poker room and a sportsbook. Guy Fieri’s Mt. Pocono Kitchen and Bistecca by Il Mulino do the food.
Mohegan Pennsylvania Wilkes-Barre
1280 Highway 315, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702 · (888) 946-4672
Mohegan’s racino at Pocono Downs: a hotel, a large floor of slots and tables, a poker room, a sportsbook and live harness racing in season. The gaming hub for north-eastern Pennsylvania.
Central Pennsylvania
Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course Grantville
777 Hollywood Boulevard, Grantville, PA 17028
Fifteen miles from Harrisburg off I-81: Penn Entertainment’s flagship racino, with a large slots floor, live tables, a poker room, a theScore Bet sportsbook and thoroughbred racing at Penn National, home of the Penn Mile. No hotel on site; the Harrisburg hotels are a short drive.
Hollywood Casino York York
York Galleria, 2899 Whiteford Road, York, PA 17402
A Category 4 mini-casino inside the York Galleria mall (2021): several hundred slots, a couple of dozen tables and a sportsbook. Convenient, not a destination.
Hollywood Casino Morgantown Berks County
6021 Morgantown Road, Morgantown, PA 19543
Penn’s second mini-casino (2021), off the Turnpike between Reading and Lancaster, with around 750 slots, 30 tables and a sportsbook.
Parx Casino Shippensburg Cumberland County
250 South Conestoga Drive, Shippensburg, PA 17257
Parx’s satellite (2023) off I-81 south of Carlisle: slots and electronic table games, a betParx sportsbook, quick in and out.
Happy Valley Casino State College
Nittany Mall, 2901 East College Avenue, State College, PA 16801
The newest casino in Pennsylvania, opened in April 2026 in the former Macy’s at the Nittany Mall: 750 slots, 30 live-dealer tables and a sportsbook, a few miles from Penn State. Run by Saratoga Casino Holdings.
Pittsburgh and the west
Rivers Casino Pittsburgh North Shore
777 Casino Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15212 · (877) 558-0777
On the Ohio River next to Acrisure Stadium and a walk from PNC Park: a big slots floor, more than 100 tables, a 30-table poker room, the BetRivers Sportsbook and The Landing Hotel with 219 rooms. The best-placed casino in the state for a city break.
Hollywood Casino at The Meadows Washington
210 Racetrack Road, Washington, PA 15301 · (724) 503-1200
Twenty-five miles south of Pittsburgh: a racino with harness racing (the Adios is the big night), a large slots floor, tables, a poker room, a sportsbook, a bowling center and a Hyatt Place hotel on the property.
Live! Casino Pittsburgh Greensburg
5260 US Route 30, Greensburg, PA 15601 · (878) 787-7770
Cordish’s mini-casino at Westmoreland Mall (2020): around 750 slots, 30 tables and a FanDuel Sportsbook, thirty minutes east of the city.
The Casino at Nemacolin Farmington
4067 National Pike, Farmington, PA 15437 · (888) 523-9582
A resort-license casino inside Nemacolin, the Laurel Highlands resort with Forbes Five-Star lodging, the Mystic Rock golf course, a spa and a wildlife academy. The floor is small by law (600 slots, 28 tables); the point is the resort.
Presque Isle Downs & Casino Erie
8199 Perry Highway, Erie, PA 16509 · (866) 374-3386
Churchill Downs’ racino near Lake Erie: slots, tables, a TwinSpires sportsbook and a thoroughbred meet that runs through the summer. The only casino in the north-west corner of the state.
Best for — where to go for what
Wind Creek Bethlehem. AAA Four Diamond rooms, a spa, an outlet mall and the biggest table pit in the east of the state, all under one roof an hour from Philadelphia. Runner-up: Live! Philadelphia for a game weekend, Valley Forge for a quiet one.
Parx. The most live tables in Pennsylvania means more open seats at $10–$15 minimums on weeknights and the widest choice of double-zero and single-zero wheels; Wind Creek’s live-dealer stadium is the alternative if you prefer electronic betting at a real wheel.
Parx (48 tables), then Rivers Pittsburgh (30) and Live! Philadelphia (29). All three run daily cash games and regular tournament series; Parx is the one with action at any hour.
Parx Racing in September for the Pennsylvania Derby and Cotillion Stakes; The Meadows for harness racing’s Adios; Presque Isle Downs for a summer evening card by the lake.
Live! Philadelphia’s FanDuel Sportsbook on a Sunday, with the stadiums across the road; Rivers Pittsburgh’s BetRivers book before a Steelers game next door.
Nemacolin if money is no object; Mount Airy for golf, spa and an adults-only weekend in the Poconos.
Racetracks and off-track betting
Six Pennsylvania racetracks run live meets, and every one sits inside a casino. Thoroughbreds: Parx Racing (Bensalem, most of the year), Penn National (Grantville) and Presque Isle Downs (Erie, summer). Harness: Harrah’s Philadelphia (Chester), The Meadows (Washington) and Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania (Wilkes-Barre). The tracks also run off-track betting parlours around the state, and the minimum age for pari-mutuel wagering is 18. Details, key race dates and the online wagering apps are in our Pennsylvania horse racing guide.
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Sportsbook apps in Pennsylvania
Eleven online sportsbooks hold Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board licenses: bet365, BetMGM, betParx, BetRivers, Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, FanDuel, Fanatics, Mohegan PA, PlaySugarHouse and theScore Bet. Each is tied to a land-based casino license, must be 21+ and uses geolocation to confirm you are inside the state. Retail sportsbooks operate at all eighteen casinos. Our Pennsylvania sportsbooks guide compares the apps, markets, payment options and how to sign up.
Online casinos and poker in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania launched regulated online casino play in July 2019 and is now the largest market in the United States by revenue. Twenty-four online casino sites carry a PGCB license, from BetMGM, Borgata, Caesars Palace, DraftKings, FanDuel, BetRivers and Golden Nugget to casino-own brands such as Hollywood, betParx, PlayLive!, Mohegan PA, Wind Creek and the newest entrants, Imperial Treasures and Resorts Casino. Online poker runs at seven rooms — BetMGM, BetRivers, Borgata, DraftKings, FanDuel, PlaySugarHouse and WSOP — and since Pennsylvania joined the multi-state agreement in 2025, several share player pools with New Jersey and Michigan. The Pennsylvania online casinos guide has every licensed site, the poker rooms and how to check a site is regulated.
Betting on horse racing online
Online race wagering is legal from 18 through advance-deposit wagering (ADW) operators licensed by the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission. AmWager holds a Pennsylvania license and is the app we use for its odds tools and rewards on every bet (see our AmWager review and sign-up code); TwinSpires, FanDuel Racing, NYRA Bets, DRF Bets and Xpressbet are also licensed. Read the full horse racing guide for the tracks, the big races and how the apps compare.
Rules, tax, sweepstakes and prediction markets
Age. 21 for casinos, slots, table games, sports betting, online casino and poker; 18 for horse racing, the lottery and fantasy contests.
Location. Anyone 21+ can play online while physically inside Pennsylvania — residents and visitors alike. Apps use geolocation and will not accept bets from outside the state.
Tax on winnings. Gambling winnings are taxable income in Pennsylvania (3.07% state income tax) and federally (24% withholding on large wins, with a Form W-2G issued). Keep records of losses; they can offset winnings on a federal return.
Sweepstakes casinos. No Pennsylvania license exists for them, and the Gaming Control Board has said publicly that sweepstakes casinos are illegal online gambling. It sent cease-and-desist letters to eighteen operators in April 2025 and all complied; most major brands now block Pennsylvania. Treat any site offering casino games without the PGCB logo as unregulated.
Prediction markets. Sports event contracts on federally regulated exchanges are not licensed by the PGCB and are not part of Pennsylvania’s regulated sports betting market.
Self-exclusion and help. The PGCB runs voluntary self-exclusion lists for casinos, online gaming and video gaming terminals. Free, confidential help is available 24/7 on 1-800-GAMBLER, and at responsibleplay.pa.gov.
Pennsylvania gambling in 2027: what to expect
With eighteen casinos now open and Happy Valley the last of the licensed mini-casinos, 2027 will be shaped online rather than on the ground: Pennsylvania should remain the largest US online casino market, with BetMGM, FanDuel and DraftKings holding the top spots while newer sites like Imperial Treasures and Resorts fight for share, shared-liquidity poker growing at BetMGM and WSOP after the multi-state agreement, and the Gaming Control Board likely to win the legal power it has asked for to shut sweepstakes casinos out for good.
Pennsylvania gambling FAQ
Is gambling legal in Pennsylvania?
Yes. Pennsylvania has licensed casinos since 2006, table games since 2010, and since the 2017 expansion act it also licenses online casino games, online poker, online and retail sports betting, fantasy contests, video gaming terminals at truck stops and the iLottery. All of it is regulated by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, except horse racing, which falls under the State Horse Racing Commission.
How many casinos are in Pennsylvania?
Eighteen, after Happy Valley Casino opened in State College in April 2026: eleven full casinos (six of them at racetracks), two resort casinos with smaller floors, and five Category 4 mini-casinos.
Which is the closest casino to Philadelphia?
Two are inside the city: Live! Casino & Hotel in the Stadium District and Rivers Casino in Fishtown. Parx in Bensalem, Harrah’s in Chester and Valley Forge in King of Prussia are each about half an hour out.
Are sweepstakes casinos legal in Pennsylvania?
They are not licensed, and the Gaming Control Board treats them as illegal online gambling. After the board’s cease-and-desist letters in 2025 most operators withdrew from the state. If you want to play slots online in Pennsylvania, use one of the 24 PGCB-licensed casino sites.
Is online poker legal in Pennsylvania?
Yes. Seven licensed rooms operate — BetMGM, BetRivers, Borgata, DraftKings, FanDuel, PlaySugarHouse and WSOP — and Pennsylvania joined the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement in 2025, so several rooms pool players with New Jersey and Michigan. PokerStars closed its standalone Pennsylvania site in 2026.
Can I bet on horse racing online in Pennsylvania?
Yes, from 18, through ADW operators licensed by the State Horse Racing Commission such as AmWager, TwinSpires, FanDuel Racing, NYRA Bets, DRF Bets and Xpressbet. Bets go into the same pari-mutuel pools as the track.
Do I pay tax on gambling winnings in Pennsylvania?
Yes. Winnings are taxable at the state rate of 3.07% and federally; large wins carry 24% federal withholding and a W-2G. Losses can be deducted against winnings on a federal itemized return, so keep records.
Do I have to live in Pennsylvania to use the apps?
No. You have to be 21 or over and physically inside Pennsylvania when you bet or play. Visitors can register and play; residents cannot play from outside the state.
Which casinos have hotels?
Parx (Parxview Hotel), Live! Philadelphia, Valley Forge, Wind Creek Bethlehem, Mount Airy, Mohegan Pennsylvania, Rivers Pittsburgh (The Landing), The Meadows (Hyatt Place) and Nemacolin. The rest are day-trip casinos.
Where do I get help with a gambling problem?
Call 1-800-GAMBLER, free and confidential, any time. The PGCB’s responsibleplay.pa.gov explains self-exclusion, which can be set for casinos, online gaming and VGTs separately, for one year, five years or life.
21+ (18+ for horse racing and the lottery). Gambling should be entertainment, not income. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER. Venue details are as published by the operators and the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board; hours, floor sizes and amenities change, so check before you travel. This page is general information, not legal or financial advice.
