When the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board gave the green light for SugarHouse Sportsbook to finally go live back on May 31, it officially marked the long-awaited advent of PA online sports betting. SugarHouse Sportsbook, a familiar brand to those in the Greater Philadelphia Area, has also been a major player in the first year of legal NJ online sports betting.

It’s been a few weeks since SugarHouse’s Pennsylvania launch, so now seems like a good time to assess things and run through what there is to like and what could be improved moving forward. If you’re not interested in that, you can always just simply sign up and claim your $250 deposit bonus right here.

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What’s Working for SugarHouse Sportsbook PA

Let’s begin with something that may not be obvious to the average prospective bettor. SugarHouse Sportsbook PA is powered by popular gaming technology company Kambi, which also provides odds for SugarHouse’s NJ offering and DraftKings Sportsbook. While this may not seem like a big deal, bettors can be assured of competitive odds and prices when placing bets at these books. As an experienced gambler that frequently uses various sportsbooks, I want to know that my money is being wagered in a fair and reputable market. You’re going to get that peace of mind here.

As for the betting experience, SugarHouse Sportsbook PA has a clean look and rather simple-to-use set of betting menus that provide users with an extensive list of wagering options. Users accessing the home page will see featured live and pregame odds in the middle of the screen as well as a vertical scrolling menu of various sports and leagues on the left side. The page functionality and layout makes for easy navigation between sports, games, and bet types, a credit to its design given the overwhelming amount of betting options available.

After selecting a specific game, users then are provided with numerous event-specific wagering options, including game lines, props, parlay options, and unique player specials. What’s a player special, you ask? Let’s use a standard baseball game as an example. SugarHouse Sportsbook PA allows users the opportunity to bet on an outcome such as how many strikeouts will be recorded by a starting pitcher, or whether certain players will hit a home run. Essentially, it’s a fun twist that allows users to enjoy different ways to wager while they follow the action. That said, you are basically going to get all of the standard industry betting options with SugarHouse Sportsbook.

Also included among these standard options is live in-game betting, an extremely popular feature that figures to rapidly grow and evolve. My initial evaluation of SugarHouse Sportsbook’s live betting product is positive. Lines update quickly, allowing users the necessary time to assess a potential outcome, place and lock in a wager. Let me tell you–that’s not always the case with live betting. I can’t even recall how many times I’ve identified a situation where I want to get involved and place a bet only to have an app or site freeze me out and not accept the bet. It’s infuriating, so I’ve been pleased to avoid this with SugarHouse Sportsbook PA.

A Minor Complication

It’s almost impossible to discuss SugarHouse Sportsbook PA without noting what I’d term as a hiccup of convenience in the betting experience. While iOS users can sign up and claim a $250 deposit bonus right here, they can’t yet use their mobile devices to place wagers. Meanwhile, Android users can download the app and bet using their mobile devices. What’s the hold up with iOS? We’ve previously reported on this complication, but the short of it is that Apple requires users to download a geo-location tool, which you can’t do on iOS. The good news is that SugarHouse (and other sportsbooks soon coming to PA) are working through the issues and the expectation is that this problem will eventually be resolved. The even better news is that users can still take advantage of SugarHouse Sportsbook’s full range of betting options on their desktop or laptop computers. Here’s the step-by-step process of how to do it:

  1. Sign up for SugarHouse Sportsbook
  2. Claim your deposit match up to $250
  3. Begin playing

Seems easy enough.

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