Online Hollywood Casino Platform Is Coming to Discontinuance
The Hollywood Casino website and mobile app will soon be discontinued as ESPN Bet replaces the interactive gaming site.
Parent company Penn Entertainment posted a notice on its website, HollywoodCasino.com, informing players that the iGaming platform will be shutting down on December 14, 2023. While new registrations have been banned, existing customers can continue betting until December 11.
All HollywoodCasino.com accounts will be closed on December 14th. Players who have not withdrawn their funds early will receive a check in the mail to the address registered to their account.
On Monday, Penn Entertainment launched ESPN Bet, a new mobile and retail sportsbook. The Pennsylvania-based casino operator plans to integrate its online casino platform into the ESPN Bet app and website in the coming weeks.
iGaming, interactive slots, and online table games are only legal in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Connecticut, Michigan, and Delaware.
HollywoodCasino.com has been Penn Entertainment’s iGaming platform since its debut in Pennsylvania in 2018. iGaming networks are also active in Michigan and West Virginia.
ESPN Betting Integration
In August, Penn Entertainment shocked the gaming and sports betting industries by announcing it would divest its stake in Barstool Sports, a $450 million acquisition. Due to regulatory concerns about Barstool founder Dave Portnoy, Penn decided to abandon Barstool and sell it back to the controversial businessman and social media personality for $1.
Penn instead chose to advance its sports betting business through a $1.5 billion partnership with ESPN. ESPN Bet goes live Monday in the 17 states where Penn’s Barstool Sports was previously licensed.
By integrating the HollywoodCasino.com platform into sports betting apps, Penn hopes to attract iGaming players to its sports betting ESPN Bet and vice versa. The online casino will soon be accessible through the ESPN Bet mobile app and the ESPN Bet website.
Penn's statement noted that HollywoodCasino.com accounts do not need to be closed manually, but doing so will allow customers to receive remaining funds more quickly.
To avoid delays in processing customer withdrawals, we strongly recommend that customers withdraw all funds before the December 14, 2023 deadline,” the notice states.
Penn Entertainment acquired Hollywood Casino Corp. in 2003 for $328 million and $360 million in assumed debt. At the time, the University of Pennsylvania was known as the Penn National Gaming Corporation.
Hollywood Casino Corporation is a Texas-based gambling operator that owns and manages three riverboats - Hollywood Casino Aurora in Illinois, Hollywood Casino Shreveport in Louisiana, and Hollywood Casino in Mississippi Tunica Casino.
Market Leader
In Pennsylvania, the second largest iGaming state after New Jersey, Pennsylvania’s HollywoodCasino.com platform is the market leader.
The iGaming network generated gross gaming revenue (GGR) of more than $561.2 million last year. Rivers Casino's online site came in second, with revenue of approximately $326.4 million.
HollywoodCasino.com has established its iGaming dominance in 2023. As of September, the iGaming platform has generated more than $528.1 million in winnings from remote players across the Commonwealth.
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Source: www.casino.org
