Valley Forge Sportsbook Review
The Valley Forge Casino Resort is one of Pennsylvania’s newest gambling destinations, opening just recently in March 2012. And though the Valley Forge Casino is a Class 3 operator (which, in PA, means that the casino aspect exists to bolster the primary resort business on-site), it still has slot machines, which means that – by Pennsylvania law – it will also be the target for a full Valley Forge sportsbook review.
Indeed, the Valley Forge sportsbook should be open to customers any day now, as most industry analysts expect the facility to receive its license approval within the next few weeks. Thanks to Act 42, sports betting in Pennsylvania was nominally legalized the moment that the Supreme Court overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA, 1992) in May 2018. Once the Valley Forge sportsbook gets its licensing squared away, expect the resort to offer one of the most compelling products in all of Pennsylvania sports betting.
That said, PA residents and Valley Forge Casino customers looking for an online sports betting solution will likely have to wait a bit longer after on-site wagering goes live at the Valley Forge sportsbook. While an online Valley Forge sportsbook is absolutely in the works, the roll-out will probably take most of the rest of 2018, possibly even extending into 2019.
Those who wish to wager online immediately do have other options, though: they can sign up at a legal Pennsylvania sportsbooks like Bovada, BetOnline, 5Dimes, SportsBetting, and other top sites. These services have been providing PA residents with valuable sports betting odds and guaranteed payouts for over two decades, and they continue to be 100% free and legal to use. (And, given PA’s outlandish 36% taxation rate on sports betting revenue, these offshore books are likely to always have better moneylines than their in-state PA sports betting counterparts, which represents no small savings for the average Pennsylvania bettor.)
The Valley Forge sportsbook is not yet open for business, but progress has definitely been made on that front, as the venue has recently submitted its application (and whopping $10 million application fee) to the PA government, becoming the sixth casino in Pennsylvania to do so. With the paperwork (nearly) out of the way, the wait for Valley Forge sports betting shouldn’t last more than a couple of months, meaning that a February or March 2019 launch (if not earlier) is a virtual certainty.
Newly acquired by Boyd Gaming, the Valley Forge Casino Resort is undergoing several upgrades and improvements to its gaming floor and amenities packages (including the addition of more slots and table games). Of course, the highlight of the revamp will undoubtedly be the Valley Forge sportsbook, which will be powered by FanDuel, a subsidiary of international bookmaking experts Paddy Power Betfair.
Once the venue goes live with its sports betting lounge in just a few short months, you can expect every Valley Forge sportsbook review to give high marks, as the wagering options will be second to none in the state. Like George Washington setting up camp in the area all those years ago, victory is imminent in Valley Forge (albeit hopefully without the mass starvation, gangrene, and deaths from exposure). If sports betting is a battle, Valley Forge has one heck of a pedigree!
There is no doubt that once open to the public, the Valley Forge sportsbook will have comprehensive betting options for its hundreds of thousands of annual customers. From action on NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, and NCAA games to full support of international sports like soccer, cricket, rugby, tennis, golf, and more, Pennsylvania sports betting enthusiasts will be able to enjoy putting money on all their favorite leagues, teams, and players worldwide, all year long.
Better yet, the wager types to be offered by the Valley Forge sportsbook will run the gamut, as folks will be able to make spread bets, straight bets, totals bets, prop wagers, futures wagers, specials, parlays, and more. Indeed, there should be no better, more fully-fledged sports betting option in the entire state, and PA residents will always be able to rely on the Valley Forge sportsbook for an excellent value and an even better time.
For starters, you won’t be able to place mobile wagers at the Valley Forge sportsbook, as the initial gambling offerings will be restricted solely to on-site action. However, in the months after Pennsylvania sports betting formally kicks off, a mobile online solution is sure to turn up.
While PA residents could be using their iPhones and Android devices to place their wagers at the Valley Forge sportsbook by late 2018, there is some talk amongst those in the know that such an option will not be available until early 2019.
In either case, a true Valley Forge sportsbook app likely won’t launch until after that, provided that Apple and Google approve the venue’s app in a reasonable timeframe. Still, even without a dedicated mobile app for betting on sports at the Valley Forge Casino Resort, patrons will still be able to access the facility’s online platform on their mobile devices of choice. One way or another, expect mobile wagers to play a big part in any forthcoming Valley Forge sportsbook review.
The probability of the Valley Forge Sportsbook offering proxy betting is slim to none. Proxy betting is when an out of state person has someone else visit the physical venue and place bets on their behalf. Being that there is no way for the sportsbook to verify the age or identity of the out of state party, it can pose a huge risk to the casino. As such, proxy betting is generally considered illegal in most countries, including the US. The good news is that we want to include alternatives within our Valley Forge sportsbook review. Online sports betting sites such as Bovada, BetOnline, and SportsBetting allow wagers to be placed from anywhere in the USA, making them a safer choice than using a proxy.