PENN to Launch Hollywood Casino App in Various US States in ’25

The Hollywood Casino app is set to launch in Pennsylvania during the first quarter of 2025, and will continue to roll out in Michigan, New Jersey, West Virginia and Ontario.

PENN Entertainment, one of the largest American entertainment companies and operators of integrated entertainment, sports content, and casino gambling, is set to launch their latest online casino app in various states in the US in 2025.

The Hollywood Casino app is slated to be launched in Pennsylvania during the first quarter of 2025, and will be followed by other states that have legalized online casinos such as Michigan, New Jersey, and West Virginia later in the year.

This latest digital casino app strives to make one of the best casinos online more accessible and streamline for online players who prefer the Hollywood Casino brand.

What Made PENN Entertainment’s Decide to Launch their Hollywood Casino app in Pennsylvania?

During an Q3 earnings report, CEO Jay Snowden noted that PENN has numerous physical Hollywood Casino properties in the U.S. including four in Pennsylvania and others in the likes of Michigan and Ohio.

Moreover, Pennsylvania once had Hollywood Casinos online available within their territory as part of a partnership between PENN and IGT before it was discontinued about a year ago. Snowden noted it captured high single-digit market share, and along with fellow executives, told investors and analysts they see a big cross-sell opportunity by taking the brand online in-house.

Snowden stated that they watched their competition launch standalone iCasino apps with great success, and many times it was the same brand, 

“For us, it’s not only leading with iCasino in that app but it’s also the brand connection, which is going to be pretty powerful for us with regard to the marketing plan.”

He also noted that in terms of whether their real money online casino will be successful in their second go-around in the Keystone State, Snowden and the fellow executives are positive, and this move will improve their online casino presence,

“We think Hollywood Casino will perform very well, we think that’s going to be a really nice shot in the arm for us in terms of continuing to grow our online casino business.”

Partnership with ESPN

The cross-sell of factor won’t just cover land-based casino gaming and iCasino, but also online sports betting:

“There is a whole cohort of iGamers who don’t get the fact that they have to access our casino through our sportsbooks,” PENN EVP of Operations Todd George noted. 

“This completely unlocks that, and building on that further is the entire omnichannel opportunity where people are in our casinos and we clearly market to them the same branded product that they’re playing on-site as they go interactive.”

PENN’s initiative to add sports betting into their online casino app includes their push to market their ESPN Bet brand. Snowden and company noted that ESPN funneling has been the main driver between PENN’s 1.8 million new users since the ESPN Bet launch. 

Executives also provided an update on the activity around account linking, noting that tens of thousands of users have linked their accounts within a few days of the feature going live. That said, PENN will heavily promote the linkage opportunity in-app in both ESPN and ESPN Bet.

Account Linking Will Be Possible

Chief Technology Officer Aaron LaBerge, along with the executives noted that they were pretty excited about account linking as a way to make a better environment for player engagement,

“These are super fans that are linking. They’re all facing significantly more bets, higher handle, higher GGR and they are consuming significantly more ESPN content as well. We’re incredibly happy with the progress so far,” LaBerge added.

Moreover, LaBerge also noted that PENN will integrate further personalization in the coming weeks and months. This will include tailored promotions and offers related to a user’s favorite teams and preferences across both the ESPN and ESPN Bet apps. 

PENN will also make a strong push into the fantasy football market by incorporating users’ fantasy selections and activity to provide an all-encompassing betting experience.

Will the Hollywood Casino App Accept Crypto?

When it comes to whether or not the upcoming Hollywood Casino app will become one of the go-to crypto casino sites, players will have to wait for further developments once it becomes live next year.

Their land-based casinos currently only offer conventional banking options that include credit cards, bank transfers, Hollywood Casino Play+ Card, ACH Transfers, and PayNearMe.

The same goes for ESPN Bet, which offers a myriad of deposit and withdrawal options such as debit and credit cards, online banking, Apple Pay, Paypal, Skrill, and Venmo.

In the event that the Hollywood Casino app and ESPN Bet endeavors prove favorable for PENN Entertainment in the following years, they might consider the possibility of adding more banking options for their player base to utilize. But until that day comes, prospective players will have to rely on conventional banking options.