It’s time to relax if you’ve been cruising the internet looking for the best Pennsylvania sports betting sites.

Our team has put all the contenders under the microscope, and ranked them based on a range of important factors. If you’re in PA, it’s these online sportsbooks you’ll want to use for your real money sports wagers.

Call 1-800-GAMBLER.The gaming service is brought to you by Rush Street Interactive PA, LLC, licensed by PGCB, address of record 1001 N. Delaware Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19125 Rivers™ and BetRivers® are marks of Holdings Acquisition Co, L.P. BetRivers was among the first online sportsbooks to enter the Pennsylvania market, having launched in June 2019. Its first-mover status and strong brand association is helping it to carve out a sizable niche in the nascent PA sports betting market.

With legal sports betting in Pennsylvania, residents in the state have a few options for where to place their wagers. Some of these options are regulated directly by PA, others are based outside the state and regulated by their local gambling authorities.

While it’s good to have options, choosing where to bet on sports in Pennsylvania becomes tricky as a result. First, there’s a decision to make about using land-based sportsbooks or online sportsbooks. And if you decide to bet online, you have LOTS of sites to choose from.

That’s precisely why we’ve compiled our list of the best Pennsylvania betting sites. We’ve made it easy for you to choose a safe and legitimate online sports betting site that provides a great experience.

Ranking the top PA sports betting sites is an onerous task. Luckily, we enjoy what we do. And, more importantly, we take great satisfaction in helping our readers find the best places to bet on sports online.

We’ve written a detailed guide explaining our process for ranking sports betting sites, so we want get into the details here. Just rest assured that we look at every aspect of all the online sportsbooks we assess, and only the very best of them make our list of recommended sites.

You can sign up with one of our top-rated Pennsylvania betting sites with confidence. You’ll enjoy what they have to offer.

Why Bet With Pennsylvania Betting Sites?

You can look at sports gambling in a couple of different ways. There are those that are very serious about making a profit over the long haul, and this can be done, but it’s extremely difficult. It’s not necessarily a lot of fun, because strict bankroll management is required at every turn.

The vast majority of people that would consider themselves to be professional sports gamblers grind out modest positive winning percentages.

Recreational sports betting is usually the way to go, and every sports fan should seriously consider it for a very simple reason.

When you’re watching a game that your favorite team is participating in, you can enjoy about three hours of gripping, edge-of-your-seat entertainment because you really care about the outcome.

If the next game on television features two teams you couldn’t care less about, where’s the intrigue? You may enjoy the sport in general and marvel at some good plays, but the excitement just isn’t there. However, all that changes when you put down some money on one of the teams.

People routinely set aside budgets for entertainment each month. That’s well and good, but you’re never going to get your money back after you go to a movie or purchase some type of content at home.

When you bet on sports, at worst, you got some affordable entertainment. At best, you will be paid some cold hard cash after you’ve enjoyed every second of a contest, and it doesn’t get better than that.

Here some of the reasons why you should use the best PA sports betting sites for your wagers.

If you live close to a brick and mortar sportsbook, you’re not going to take the drive, find a place to park, and walk through the facility to make a bet in the spur of the moment. When you use the top sites for betting on sports online, you can bet at any time, from anywhere, in the blink of an eye.

Imagine going to a sports bar to meet up with some friends after work on a Friday. You see that they will be televising a game in 10 minutes, you intend to hang out for a few more hours. Under these circumstances, you can quickly make a bet on one of the participants and enjoy the game to the utmost.

The PA sportsbooks we recommend are very generous when it comes to the promotions they offer to new and existing players. When you first sign up, you will get some extra money for your troubles, and it can be hundreds of dollars depending on the extent of your initial deposit.

As time goes on, additional promotions will be offered, including reload bonuses. You will be rewarded for referring new players, and if you decide to play at a particular site, you can accumulate loyalty rewards points that have significant value.

Online gambling sites offer several different ways to fund your account and collect your winnings. Each site has different policies, but you can expect to see some combination of Visa, Mastercard, eChecks, bank wires, and Play+ cards.

If you would rather deal in cash, you can make deposits at 7-Eleven and CVS stores using the PayNearMe option.

These are just a few great reasons to consider using our recommended Pennsylvania sports betting sites for you wagers. There are many more advantages to betting online, too.

Why Is Sports Betting Legal in Pennsylvania?

The trail that led to state-sanctioned sports gambling in the Keystone State began in the neighboring state of New Jersey. In 2011, voters there were given the opportunity to weigh in on a proposed state-level constitutional amendment that would allow for the legalization of sports betting.

Right around that time, the casinos in Atlantic City were falling on hard times, and the horse racing tracks were also in need of some type of boost. This proposal would allow the licensed gambling facilities to apply for permits that would give them the ability to offer sports betting as well.

People in New Jersey were open-minded enough to vote in favor of Atlantic City casino gambling back in the 1970s, so they acted according to form when they voted on sports gambling in 2011. By a 2-1 margin, the measure was approved, and then-Governor Chris Christie signed the measure into law in 2012.

A lawsuit was filed by the NCAA in conjunction with the NBA, the NFL, the MLB, and the NHL. They contended that New Jersey could not take this action because it would violate a federal US gambling law.

The statute they were referring to was the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA). This piece of legislation was authored by US Senator Bill Bradley. As a result, it’s alternately referred to as the “Bradley Act.”

In a stroke of irony, Bradley represented the state of New Jersey. His passion for the prevention of sports betting came back around years later to hinder efforts in his home state to boost the economy. His actions also allowed the illegal bookmakers to maintain their monopoly on the activity.

The Jersey sportsbook plans were stalled at first by the courts, but appeals were filed by the state’s legal team. In 2017, the Supreme Court agreed to make the final determination, and they did just that in May of 2018. They struck down PASPA on constitutional grounds.

In short order, Delaware and New Jersey opened up sportsbooks, and Pennsylvania followed suit in November of 2018. It’s now perfectly legal to wager on sporting events at brick and mortar sportsbooks that are licensed by the state, while online sports betting is available at places such the top-rated Pennsylvania betting sites we recommend.

You will find that you can place wagers on a vast array of different sporting events at online sportsbooks that have received our seal of approval. In a real sense, the lineup is identical to what you would see at a well-developed sportsbook on the Las Vegas Strip.

The sport that generates the most interest in the United States is NFL football, and the second most popular sport is college football. It’s no surprise that sportsbooks here take more action on these sports than any other. Indeed, many aficionados feel as though football is the best sport to bet on for a couple of different reasons.

One of them is the fact that it’s ideal for handicapping compared to other sports. There are limited games on the pro and college levels, so each one is important. Since there are no “throwaway” contests on the schedule, you can rest assured that each team will give a supreme effort every time.

The nature of the scheduling also allows for a week between games, and this gives you more than ample time to do your research before you make any bets. On the college side, there are dozens of contests on the board every week, so as a handicapper, you benefit from the sheer volume of possibilities.

From an entertainment perspective, watching a football game with action on the outcome is where it’s at. Each drive is like a game within a game, so each and every play is extremely important. There’s nothing comparable in the sporting world, and this is one of the reasons why football betting generates so much interest.

While it’s true that each scoring event is not that significant in the game of basketball, it’s still a lot of fun to place a bet and watch these amazing athletes do their thing.

March Madness is one of the most exciting times at the sportsbooks, and the NBA playoffs also get hot and heavy.

Our national pastime is a fantastic game on many different levels. This being stated, it’s a bit slow-paced, so it’s hard to get totally engrossed if you don’t have a real interest in the final score.

On the other hand, if you’re betting on baseball, you can turn a boring snooze-fest into a few hours of intriguing drama.

The National Hockey League is well represented at the best Pennsylvania sports betting sites.

Pa Sports Betting Websites

You can get down on all the games during the regular season, but as fans know, the real hockey gets played during the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Outside of the “big four” American sports, you will see many other types of sporting events covered by Pennsylvania sports betting sites.

The books take bets on mixed martial arts, boxing, cycling, World Cup soccer, motorsports, golf, tennis, and more.

Pa Online Sports Betting Websites

After a Supreme Court ruling in 2018, the federal prohibition on legalized sports gaming was lifted. Any state that would like to legalize sports betting is now free to do so without interference from the feds, and Pennsylvania took advantage of the opportunity in November of 2018.

Pa Sports Betting Sites

Sports betting can enhance your life in a very significant way, because you can turn every sporting event into a few hours of gripping entertainment. If you want to take considerable risks, that’s up to you, but you can alternately stay conservative and have a lot of fun with no real worries.

The PA betting sites that have earned spots on our rankings provide top-notch customer service, and they make it easy to withdraw and deposit funds. They sweeten the pot with robust welcome bonuses, and there are other promotions that can boost your bankroll on an ongoing basis.

You can bet on any and all sporting events at the best Pennsylvania sports betting sites, and there are many different betting options offered online. We find that people who finally take the plunge have just one regret. They wish they had gotten started sooner, because they truly enjoy betting on the sports they love.