After years of operating as a social casino product, the real money PlayLive! Casino is up and running in Pennsylvania. The launch was unprecedented, in a way, as it was the first instance of a PA online casino platform becoming available before its land-based partner had opened for business.
Best Online Casinos in Pennsylvania October 2024
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When Pennsylvania lawmakers passed a gambling expansion bill in late 2017, the new law didn’t just pave the way for online casinos and sports betting. It also allowed for new mini-casinos (or satellite casinos) to be built around the state. The Cordish Companies, a Maryland-based real estate and entertainment developer, built Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia as its main property, and Live! Casino Pittsburgh as a satellite.
After Cordish successfully bid to build its casinos, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) approved its license to operate an online casino in PA as well. With the online casino set to go months before either brick-and-mortar casino was ready, PlayLive! moved ahead and launched it in August 2020. The Pittsburgh mini casino opened its doors in November, while the main property in Philadelphia is still under construction.
PlayLive! is operated by Stadium Casino, an affiliate of The Cordish Companies. The online casino entered a crowded market in Pennsylvania, where 10 other online casinos were already live at the time of its launch. The site offers a modest selection of slots and table games alongside generous sign-up bonuses and occasional ongoing promotions.
This review of PlayLive! in Pennsylvania covers information about signing up for an account, welcome bonuses, and promotions, mobile options, site features and game selection, depositing and withdrawal options and customer support.
PlayLive! Casino PA Bonus Code For October 2024
New players signing up at PlayLive Casino become eligible for a three-part welcome bonus. This consists of two separate deposit matches worth up to $750, plus 100 free spins.
Upon registering a new account and having it verified by PlayLive support, users can visit the cashier and opt in to claim the welcome bonus. At this time there’s no PlayLive bonus code needed to receive the bonus.
The three parts of the welcome bonus are as follows:
- First deposit (min. $30): 100% deposit match up to $500.
- Second deposit (min. $30): 100 free spins on designated slots.
- Third deposit (min. $30): 50% deposit match up to $250.
First Welcome Bonus: 100% Matching Deposit Bonus Up To $500
Upon making an initial deposit of at least $30, players receive a 100% matching bonus. The maximum value of the bonus is $500, even the deposit is larger.
This bonus comes with a 20x playthrough requirement when playing slots. Other games clear the bonus as a slower rate. Bets at roulette count for 50% as much as slots wagers, while other table games clear the bonus at only a 10% rate.
In other words, clearing the full $500 bonus would require $10,000 in wagers at slots, $20,000 at roulette, or $100,000 at blackjack or other table games. You can mix and match, so $5,000 at slots plus $10,000 at roulette would also do the trick.
Second Welcome Bonus: Free Spins
Making a second deposit of at least $30 earns the 100 free spins bonus. These spins must be used on the following real money slots games:
- Starburst
- Gonzo’s Quest
- Twin $pin
- Double Stacks
- Finn and the Swirly Spin
Money won using the free spins is subject to the same 20 playthrough requirement as the deposit match. Once the requisite bets have been made, the winnings convert to real cash and can be withdrawn.
Third Welcome Bonus: 50% Matching Deposit Bonus Up To $250
As the last leg of the welcome package, a third deposit of at least $30 also earns a matching bonus similar to the first deposit bonus. However, this time only 50% of the deposit amount gets matched. The maximum value of the bonus is $250. In other words, maximizing this bonus would require another deposit of $500, the same as the first bonus.
In all three cases, the playthrough requirement must be completed within 30 days, or the uncleared funds will disappear.
While those playthrough requirements will take some dedicated play, $750 and 100 free spins amounts to a decent incentive to give this site a try.
Other PlayLive Casino PA Promotions
PlayLive PA is a new site, and has yet to introduce many promotions beyond the welcome bonuses. That said, since launch there has always been at least one temporary promotion running, making it worthwhile to check for promotions whenever logging onto the site.
A typical temporary promotion would be a game of the day offer. These require wagering a particular amount on a given slots game in order to receive a bonus.
For example, a recent promotion invited players to wager $50 on Solar Disc in order to receive a $5 bonus. As usual, there will be a playthrough requirement, though it may be less stringent than the welcome bonus. In this example, for instance, the playthrough requirement was a mere 10x, albeit with a one-week deadline.
There are also daily cashback bonuses that compensate players with 10% of their money back if they suffer a losing session when playing a designated game. Another category of promotion is a reload bonus for which players grants free spins on a certain game if they meet a certain minimum deposit (e.g., deposit $60, get 60 free spins).
Like the welcome bonuses, players can simply opt-in to be eligible for the bonuses awarded by these promotions.
PlayLive Casino Loyalty Program
PlayLive is a rarity in that it does not currently have a loyalty program to its players. However, the company does have a Live! Rewards program for its retail properties. It intends to extend this to cover its online operations at some point in the future, perhaps after its main casino in Philadelphia is operational.
The Live! Rewards program is a multi-tiered VIP rewards program available to patrons of the many Live! branded properties located along the East Coast and in the Midwestern United States. Those who play casino games earn tier points that in turn determine their tier status, which starts at “Classic” and goes all of the way up to “Chairman’s Club”:
- Classic
- Gold
- Platinum
- Black Card
- Jade Card
- Chairman’s Club
The higher the tier, the greater the benefits. These include various comps at hotels and casinos, special offers, discounts and other perks, and for the top level the ability to exchange tier points for cash.
As noted, there is a plan in place eventually to allow PlayLive! online players to enroll in the Live! Rewards program. Those who play both on the online casino and at the Live! retail casinos will be able to accumulate points both online and in person and pool them as they climb the VIP ladder and earn rewards.
How To Sign Up For A PlayLive Pennsylvania Account
In order to create a PlayLive Pennsylvania account, you must be at least 21 years of age.
The first step is to click the “Sign Up” button. The button is located at the upper right of the web-based version, and at the bottom of the app. You will then be asked to do the following:
- Enter your email address.
- Enter your date of birth.
- Create username and password.
- Choose security questions and supply answers.
Then you must enter the following:
- First and last name
- Physical address
- Cell phone number
- Last four digits of your Social Security number
Providing such information to online sites is required by Pennsylvania regulators. Doing so also helps ensure site integrity and player security.
From there you need to agree to the site’s terms and conditions, then click “Let’s Play.” Once support verifies your information, you can deposit funds and start playing.
How To Download The PlayLive Casino App
To download the PlayLive app — available for Android and iOS (Apple) users — visit the PlayLive PA site via mobile browser and scroll to the bottom of the page to find buttons for both versions of the app.
The iOS version directs the user to the Apple Store from which the app can be downloaded and installed. Meanwhile, the Android link immediately starts the download, after which the user needs to click on the application and follow instructions from there for installation.
Both apps contain most (but not all) of the games available on the desktop version of PlayLive Casino. Games are not separated into categories, however, and there is no search function. This forces players to scroll through the game icons on the homepage in order to find their favorite games to play.
Meanwhile, the app does include the same access to promotions, banking, and customer support as does the desktop version.
PlayLive Online Casino Site Features
PlayLive Casino is built on a proprietary platform created by the software developer GAN, which is shared by several other online casino brands. The desktop version of the site requires no download. The casino can be accessed directly via a web browser and is compatible with all of the major ones, including Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Explorer. Note that playing in browser will require you to download and install a geolocation plugin to ensure that you’re playing from within the state.
The site design is uncomplicated and easy to navigate, with a pleasing red, white, and black color scheme. The left column features a scrolling list of recent jackpot winners and leaderboards. Most of the page real estate is dedicated to clickable icons to load the various games.
Tabs across the top offer new games, real money online blackjack, online roulette, other table games, video poker, and progressive jackpot slots. There’s also an in casino tab highlighting a selection of casino games as well as a promotions tab where the latest offers can be found.
Each section is searchable, enabling players to find and access favorite games quickly. The page can be sorted to show the most recently added games first, each of which has a bright yellow “new” banner to help players find the latest additions. Games open in their own windows and feature high-quality graphics with fast animation.
At the bottom of each page are quick links for support, site terms, and conditions as well as the privacy policy, information about responsible gambling, and FAQs.
There are also links to various PlayLive social media accounts: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
Banking options can be accessed via your account menu. Go to the Balance & History section to find links to bonuses, banking details including deposits and withdrawals, and other information regarding your gameplay history.
PlayLive Game Selection
PlayLive Pennsylvania has a somewhat limited selection of games at present, though this is typical for a new site. It can be expected to add new games in the near future.
Even so, the preliminary offerings include a decent variety of games. Users will be glad to know also that the focus is on premium and popular games. Thus while the selection is not huge in numerical terms, there isn’t any dead weight; all the games are high quality.
Online Slots
A couple of months after its launch, PlayLive PA has just under 120 slots titles from which to choose. The app includes about three quarters of the slots appearing on the desktop site.
The selection is limited, though it includes a number of popular titles in addition to the ones listed above as part of the “free spins” welcome bonus. The games come from well-regarded providers like NetEnt, IGT, Konami and Incredible Technologies. Popular ones include:
- Butterfly Staxx
- Cash-O-Matic
- Cleopatra
- Da Vinci Diamonds
- Fruit Shop
- Jack Hammer
- Secrets of Atlantis
- Wolf Run
For fans of progressive jackpot slots, there are eight such titles available:
- Divine Fortune
- Fortune Coin
- Grand Spinn
- Imperial Riches
- Mercy of the Gods
- Red Hot Tamales!
- Wheel of Fortune Hawaiian Getaway
- Wheel of Fortune Triple Extreme! Spin
Table Games
The table game selection on PlayLive PA is currently limited to a half-dozen games, four of which are variations on roulette:
- Baccarat for Real Money
- Blackjack classic
- American roulette
- European roulette
- French roulette
- Roulette Advanced
Video Poker
Here, too, the selection is limited, with just three video poker titles, two of which are NetEnt’s Jacks or Better and a Deuces Wild games. However the third is the Game King all-in-one lineup from IGT that contains a familiar variety of video poker variants.
Live Dealer Games
As has been the case with other Pennsylvania online casinos, PlayLive launched with no live dealer games. However, Evolution Gaming’s studio is now open for business in the state, so the option is available.
That being the case, live dealer blackjack and other games like baccarat, roulette, etc. may well be coming to PlayLive PA in the near future. These days, they’re sufficiently popular and widespread that including them is almost a requirement for an online casino to be competitive.
PlayLive Casino Online Banking Options
As a new online casino, PlayLive PA presently has only a limited number of methods available for depositing and withdrawing.
For depositing funds, the following methods are available:
- PlayLive! Play+ card
- E-checks (ACH)
The site also includes among its FAQ the information that users can associate up to three credit or debit cards with their accounts to facilitate electronic fund transfers.
Those two deposit methods are also the same ones that are available for withdrawing funds. There is a third option, which is to have a paper check mailed to your address.
Depositing or withdrawing with cash at the casino cage is an option too, though so far only the Pittsburgh location is open. Once the main casino in Philadelphia opens its doors, it will provide another choice.
In time, additional payment methods may appear, such as PayPal. Some methods can only be used for withdrawal after you’ve made a deposit using them. Therefore, when using online casinos, it is recommended to choose a payment option that is equally convenient for both deposits and withdrawals.
PlayLive Casino Customer Support
When it comes to customer support, PlayLive PA offers a variety of ways to get in touch with questions or issues.
The site includes a limited FAQ section with brief answers to basic questions. Beyond that, it recommends using its live chat function by clicking the chat icon at the bottom right of the screen. LiveAgent powers the chat client, and live chat is available from 10 a.m. to 3 a.m. ET every day.
Users can receive help via email support as well, with representatives keeping the same hours as live chat.
There is no phone support at the moment.
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