Pennsylvania is one of the most notable states in the US. Lovers of history will tell you it is where the Declaration of Independence was signed. Lovers of food will tell you it is home to the vaunted Philly cheesesteak. Now, lovers of gambling can tell you it is the second biggest American gambling location, other than Vegas. Considering Vegas is considered the worldwide capital of gambling, this is no mean feat at all!

Historically, this wasn’t the case. Until about fifty years ago, Pennsylvania was like most other states in the US when it came to gambling. Century-old prudish laws ensured there was no way for PA’s gambling industry to develop. In the 1970s, this began to change. First, a state lottery was established in order to improve revenue.

Over the next few years, the state took some attempted steps towards making gambling legal on a broader scale. However, they were unsuccessful for about thirty years.

Finally, in 2004, attitudes towards US gambling had become progressive enough that it was legalized in PA. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board was established as a central authority for all things gambling-related. Since then more and more allowances have been made for gambling in PA.

Some major gambling laws have been passed as recently as a few years ago. Today, almost every form of gambling is legal in PA – starting from typical brick-and-mortar Resorts casinos to online and mini-casinos.

In fact, gambling is so incredibly widespread and commonplace in Pennsylvania that no other state in the US comes close to it, except Nevada. In Pennsylvania, you can find slot machines almost everywhere. Every truck stop by the roadside can have up to five slot machines. Even airports can host slot machines now. There are a dozen major casinos in the state, each of which can boast thousands of slot machines and scores of table games.

Despite being extremely widespread throughout the state, there are still some fairly important rules and regulations for gambling in PA. Casinos must adhere strictly to all the regulations, which define things such as how many locations a casino is allowed to have, where casinos may be established, where slot machines or casino tables can be placed, how much must be paid in licensing fees and taxes, and so on.

Don’t forget the minimum gambling age is 21. If you aren’t old enough, you might as well stop here. But if you are, then keep reading! This Pennsylvania online beginners guide will take you through some tips and tricks you can use to make the most out of your time at PA’s race tracks or resorts online casinos!

So, if you’re a beginner looking to get into PA casino gambling, it can be intimidating at first. A physical casino is easier to start with – you can easily find someone to ask for help, or otherwise simply meet up with a few friends before heading there.

In contrast, when you’re starting out at an online casino, you’re probably at home with no buddies right beside to pester for tips.

Don’t worry, though. We’ve got you covered. This Pennsylvania online casino beginner guide will help ease your fears as we walk you through exactly what to do when starting out!

1. First, pick a good casino to play at!

Well, it sounds simple but at the same time, it’s a long process where a lot of different aspects and factors have to be considered. A few of the factors or criteria we use to judge a good online casino are trustworthiness, quality and quantity of games, promotional offers and bonuses, customer support, and so on.

Of course, we don’t expect you to do all the work of going through each online PA casino looking at each of these aspects. You can simply follow our recommendations instead! We’re just describing how we decided the best online US casinos.

Trustworthiness is a pretty obvious factor. If you play at an untrustworthy online casino, you are at risk of getting scammed out of your money or having your information stolen. We don’t want either of that to happen!  That’s why you should only play at online casinos that are licensed by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.

This ensures a few things – first, that the casino is fully on board with officials and are therefore trustworthy. Secondly, you don’t get fined for playing at an illegal or black-market establishment. And most importantly, the money you spend contributes to the development of Pennsylvania. So, it’s a win-win situation all around!

The variety and quality of the games will also dictate a large portion of your experience. You’re playing at a casino to have fun. If the games are boring, where’s the fun coming from? We’ll be talking more about games at PA casinos later!

Similarly, if you ever face any kind of issue at an online casino, you will be contacting Customer Support. But if the customer support is apathetic to your issues and doesn’t bother solving them, then there’s no way for you to keep playing.

Finally, bonuses and promotions are extremely common at online casinos and make up a big part of the experience. Online casinos tend to be more generous with bonus offers because they’re saving a lot of money from not having to rent physical premises.

Bonuses are great because they give you the chance to earn a lot of extra money to bet with. Some casinos will offer games like free slots or video poker, as a demo. However, you have to be careful of the terms and conditions attached to most bonuses.

Sometimes, the requirements for bonuses will be easy to meet. On other occasions, they will be so difficult that you can forget about trying to get the bonus at all. We obviously prefer the former!

We’ll also be recommending some of the best welcome offers in US casino scene in PA.

2. Learn the games you will be playing.

There’s no need to become a master at a game, but it’s best to learn a bit about how to play it. Some games, like online slots and blackjack, are played by yourself, so you won’t have the benefit of interacting with other players during the game.

Other games like Poker are played against other players, so don’t count on them for help!

If you have a decent idea about the game you’re playing, you will be able to get some wins even as a complete beginner. For instance, knowing the different poker cards and hands well might give you an advantage against another player who underestimates you because you’re a beginner, letting you snatch a few wins!

3. Keep track of your spending.

This tip applies to everyone, not just beginners. It is really important to keep track of how much money you are spending. There are many people who are unable to control their impulses. There are so many stories about how people who spent wantonly at a casino and spiralled into debt for the rest of their lives.

Nobody wants that to happen. So, even if you are capable of controlling your impulses, it is a good idea to set a limit on your spending. At a physical casino, there might be other players or employees around to warn you. At an online casino, there are no such people, so it falls upon you to manage yourself.

The best way to do so is to place a lower limit on the amount of money you are willing to lose.

Remember, the odds at an online casino are random. Some people think that if you lose a round, you are more likely to win the next round, because “it has to even out.” However, that is not the case in reality. Whether you win or lose one round, the chances of winning or losing the next round will stay exactly the same.

Therefore, we suggest refraining from continuously increasing your bets during a losing streak and putting a hard stop the moment you hit your limit.

These are just a few things you should keep in mind when you are a beginner playing at PA casinos.

Having a good variety of payment methods is extremely important for online casinos since not everyone might have a credit card or an electronic wallet. Casinos should also be transparent about their payment procedure.

All online casinos in PA will offer you most of the common forms of carrying out transactions. These include:

• All major Credit Cards (VISA, MasterCard, American Express, etc)
• Debit Cards
• Electronic Cheques
• Bank Transfers
• Neteller
• Skrill
• PayPal
• Other Electronic Wallets

This list is by no means comprehensive. Some places may accept even more niche forms of payment, such as cryptocurrencies, though this isn’t common. You should check the terms and conditions of every online PA casino you play at and make sure you are aware of the rules around depositing and withdrawing money.

For instance, a few online casinos might have deposit and withdrawal fees. Some online casinos might have limits on how much of your winnings you can withdraw every week. These are all pretty important factors that could impact your enjoyment a lot, so you should definitely take a look before you start playing.

The quality of customer support can make or break an online casino. The customer support is sometimes the only connection between the casino itself and the players. One of the worst things an online casino can have is apathetic player support.

However, Pennsylvania’s casinos are known as some of the best US online casinos. This is where the world-famous Hollywood Casino is located, and there are plenty of famed resorts online casinos besides. So, you can expect nothing but the highest standards of customer support here.

As we move into a new decade, the future of casinos in Pennsylvania looks bright. The state is on a roll with expanding the gambling industry here. Pennsylvania has already become the second biggest centre of American gambling, bringing in some three and a half billion dollars every year. That number can only go up, and more and more casinos are regulated.

Some of the major establishments in the state have begun setting up satellite locations, expanding their brick-and-mortar franchises. At the same time, there is also a greater focus on everyday gambling, where slot machines are being set up at convenience stores and bars. Soon, you won’t even have to search “Casinos Near me”. Just your local store will do!

In about a year, Pennsylvania’s online casino scene has almost caught up with New Jersey. This is an amazing fact when you consider the fact that NJ has had online casinos for many years now. Within a few years, PA could be the leader in online casinos in the US!

Let’s talk about what kind of games you can play and how you can play them. Almost every form of betting and gaming is legal here. Even Nevada does not have as many different forms of betting – there is no legal state lottery in NV like in PA.

In Pennsylvania, you can play table games such as poker, blackjack, baccarat, roulette, etc. You can also play at slot machines, and place bets on horse races. Sports betting is also legal. All of these games are not restricted to physical locations, but are available from online casinos too.

Thanks to casinos like Empire Casino, MGM casino, Atlantic City casino, Borgata Casino, Delaware Casino and Hard Rock Casino online, there is no limit to how much online gaming entertainment you can access from Pennsylvania!

Recently, semi-legal ‘Skill Games’ have also started to pop up. They are essentially casino gambling games, but they incorporate a bare minimum of ‘skill-based gameplay’ such as simple puzzles. This way, they avoid having to pay exorbitant licensing fees and taxes, but can make a profit just like casino gaming machines.

Since they are semi-legal, we don’t really encourage playing at them, but they aren’t illegal either.

As mentioned earlier, Pennsylvania does not specifically ban or discourage any specific kind of online casino games.

Every PA casino, both brick-and-mortar and online, will feature table games such as Poker games, Blackjack, Baccarat, Roulette, Craps, etc. These are all classic games that are a must-have. There are also many exciting variants for each of these games that are available.

For example, for Poker, different variants include Texas Hold’Em, Omaha Hold’em, Five Card Stud, Seven Card Stud, and more. For Poker specifically, one of the best online US casinos you can play online from PA is Poker Stars.

It’s not just Poker that has so many variants. Blackjack has several different variants like Spanish Blackjack and Double Blackjack. Similarly, Roulette also has different versions like American, European and French (although you will usually find only the first one here, since this is America, after all).

All of these variants ensure that you don’t get bored of playing the same game repeatedly. Switching it up will keep things fresh!

In addition to table games, Horse Race Betting and Sports betting feature heavily in PA casinos. Pennsylvania is home to one of the most famous Horse Racing grounds to ever feature in US gambling – Hollywood Casino and Racetrack. If you are any kind of fan of horse racing, don’t miss out on it!

Sports betting and Fantasy leagues are also really popular now. In sports betting, you can show your favourite teams support by wagering money on them. When they win, you will have twice as much to celebrate about!

Fantasy leagues are another branch of sports betting. It involves building your ideal, fantasy team made up of your favourite players. This team competes in a virtual tournament that you can wager on.

The gaming culture is extremely widespread in PA now. As we talked about earlier, you don’t even have to go to a casino now to get your fill. You can have fun with online gambling from the safety and comfort of your own home.

And if you do go out, there are gaming machines on practically every corner. Slot machines and other simple casino games are available at bars, stores and truck stops.

None of these games are particularly hard to get into, as a beginner. You can play most of them at every online casino in PA. If you follow our guidelines by picking a recommended casino, using the best welcome offers in US casino, and doing a little bit of research on the games first, you will have a great experience!

We’ll cap this Pennsylvania online casino beginner guide with a quick glance at mobile casinos. Mobile apps are a crucial part of online casino gaming now, and Pennsylvania’s online casinos definitely have not neglected that aspect. Each of the state’s major standalone and resorts online casinos offer a mobile app.

Players could use this app in a variety of different ways.

• They can use the app to keep track of their account information and statistics. The app can have user profiles and account wallets, letting them deposit and withdraw money right from the app.

• They can play slot and table games directly from the app. These games would be designed and optimized to fit the smaller size of the phone screen. It could notify you about bonus offers and promotions too!

• They can place sports bets and horse race bets right from the app. The app could feature a list of upcoming events and the odds for all the participants. It could also notify you about upcoming events.

These features aren’t guaranteed in every casino’s mobile app, but you can expect something similar to these. Mobile casino apps can be downloaded from either the casino’s website, or the app store.

The apps are usually optimized to run on all phones, not just the latest and most powerful ones. You should be able to run the app properly even on a relatively old phone. They’re also developed for iOS, Android and all other popular mobile operating systems, so nobody should feel left out!

Pick your game, learn the game principles, and take a look at the strategies developed over the years. Can you find that elusive hot streak? There’s only one way to find out. Always remember, Bet Responsibly, Bet Greatly: