The company argued the law allows competing casino owners to use the mini-casinos to poach its customer base, while providing far more protections for large casino owners in cities such as Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.Įric Schippers, Penn National’s senior vice president for public affairs and governmental relations, said company officials felt they had no choice but to participate in the process given the significant cannibalization that would have occurred at their existing casino. In the lawsuit, Penn National Gaming said that provisions allowing 10 more mini-casinos would cause “significant and unique” harm to its existing casino.

The auction came a day after the company filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the constitutionality of the very law that led to the creation of mini-casinos and established the guidelines for awarding licenses to operate them. The desired location for the new casino is in York County. Penn National Gaming, which operates Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course in Grantville, Dauphin County, had the highest bid in an auction held by state gambling regulators Wednesday morning in Harrisburg. secured the first license to operate a mini-casino in Pennsylvania as part of a gambling expansion law authorized in October in an attempt to balance the state budget. With a winning bid of just over $50 million, Wyomissing-based Penn National Gaming Inc.

Pennsylvania mini casinos