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PLAINS TWP. &#8212; Legalized sports betting is coming to the Wyoming Valley, it&#8217;s just not clear how soon.Mohegan Sun Pocono announced Monday that it has signed a deal with a European-based gaming group to offer online and offline sports betting at its facility as well as online gaming in Pennsylvania.The partnership with Kindred Group, previously known as Unibet Group, covers five years with the possibility for two additional five-year extensions.An opening date has not been announced, and the partners still have to pay the required state license fee. It also was not immediately known whether jobs will be added locally as part of the project.&#8220;We, along with Kindred, are working with the (state) regulator and are planning to launch when we&#8217;re confident that we&#8217;ll have a strong offering in the market,&#8221; Aviram Alroy, VP Interactive Gaming at Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment, said in comments emailed Monday.Sportsbook, loungeUnder the deal, Kindred will offer customers &#8220;an online sportsbook and casino experience under the Unibet brand, as well as a Unibet sports betting lounge at Mohegan Sun Pocono.&#8221;Based in Malta, Kindred operates 11 online gambling brands across Europe and Australia.&#8220;We&#8217;ve aligned with one of the best online casino and sport book operators in online regulated markets which will allow us to offer best in class experience to our existing customers as well as attracting new ones,&#8221; Alroy said Monday. &#8220;Introduction of the Kindred offering to the market is a great positive for Mohegan Sun as well as the state of Pennsylvania.&#8221;&#8220;We are excited and proud to extend our U.S. footprint into one of the largest U.S. states to regulate both online sports betting and casino,&#8221; said Manuel Stan, SVP Kindred US.Pennsylvania will be the second state that Kindred Group has entered, following its entrance in New Jersey. The partnership with Mohegan Sun Pocono is part of Kindred&#8217;s process to secure regulatory approval in Pennsylvania.Regulatory processLast May the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal ban, meaning all 50 states were free to join Nevada by licensing sports betting.In Pennsylvania, owners of the state&#8217;s 12 casinos have the option to apply for a sports betting license, for which they must pay $10 million.&#8220;Mohegan Sun Pocono and its strategic partner (Kindred) will work with the regulator and prepare to pay the amount needed to obtain a license for sports betting and online gaming,&#8221; Alroy added.Doug Harbach, a spokesman for the state&#8217;s Gaming Control Board, confirmed the agency had not yet received any request from the casino or Kindred.&#8220;The first step for Mohegan is to file a petition with us requesting approval for sports wagering. Additionally, Kindred Group would need to apply and be approved by us,&#8221; Harbach said.Currently sports wagering is being offered at six casinos, Harbach said: Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh, Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course in Dauphin County, SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia, Harrah&#8217;s Philadelphia in Chester, Parx Casino in Bensalem and at The Turf Club in Philadelphia, an off track wagering owned by Parx.Valley Forge Casino Resort in Montgomery County has been approved to offer sports wagering, and Presque Isle Downs &amp; Casino in Erie has petitioned, Harbach added, so Mohegan Sun Pocono potentially could be the ninth location to seek a license.So far none of the casinos are offering online sports betting yet, Harbach said.According to a gaming board report released last week, $2,006,546 worth of sports betting revenue was generated in December, of which $722,356 came back to the state as tax revenue. That was with only Hollywood Casino open the full month, as SugarHouse and Rivers didn&#8217;t come online until Dec. 15. Parx, Harrah&#8217;s and the Turf Club opened this month.How will it work?We also asked Alroy some questions about how Mohegan Sun Pocono&#8217;s operation will work. Here are his responses:Q: Where will the lounge be in the casino? How big?A: These details are not yet finalized but the hope is for the space to be easy to get to and exciting to stay in. We&#8217;re going through the same process with the launch with the regulator as we are with online, so we expect to launch when we feel we have a strong offering.Q: What sports will be offered?A: Wagers on all major sporting events in the U.S. and the world would be offered, including baseball, basketball, football and hockey.Q: How will you restrict the gaming to Pennsylvania?A: Location services will be implemented to make sure sports wagers are placed within the state of Pennsylvania, as required by law.The system also will be set up to verify that users are 21 or older.<style>
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<div class="neCaption">The entrance to Mohegan Sun Pocono is seen on Monday. Casino officials have entered into an agreement to bring sports betting to the facility. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_TTL012919MoheganSunPocono1-3.jpg</photo0><caption0>The entrance to Mohegan Sun Pocono is seen on Monday. Casino officials have entered into an agreement to bring sports betting to the facility. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Timeline for inauguration not announced</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Roger DuPuisrdupuis@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div>

Mohegan Sun Pocono sports betting: What you need to know