Big news here. You can now bet on your iPhone or iPad in PA with SugarHouse Sportsbook.

When PA online sports betting launched, it did so without the ability to bet on iOS thanks to a recent Apple App Store policy update which required new online betting apps submitted to the App Store to be coded natively for iOS and not just a port of the HTML web version. This prevented the current live sportsbooks – SugarHouse, Bet Rivers, and Parx – from offering any iOS betting thus far.

That all changed today.

While there is still no iOS app for SugarHouse in PA, users will be asked to download a third-party app (lightweight) called GeoGuard Location Validator, which is made by GeoComply, the same company that powers sportsbook apps in New Jersey to confirm location, when they sign up for SugarHouse Sportsbook.

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How it works

sugarhouse ios signup

Here are the steps on how to bet on iOS in PA:

  1. Sign up for SugarHouse Sportsbook if you haven’t already.
  2. After you register, you’ll confirm your identity and then be prompted to download the GeoGuardLocation App.
  3. After downloading the app, go back to the web browser and login to SugarHouse.

That’s it.

You must be provide access to your GPS in the app so it can track your location.

I just tried it and it works. The first time my phone did get buggy from within the App Store (which is odd since I was inside an Apple App), but it worked fine after that.

 

Mobile web workaround

geo guard location

The GeoGuardLocation app appears to ping your phone’s GPS and then perform its own check to validate it– this is then passed along to SugarHouse to confirm you are in Pennsylvania.

It seems it would be easier to just use your phone’s GPS like every other website that asks for permission, but state regulators in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey are a bit more restrictive and require this extra layer of confirmation, hence the delay in online sports betting on iOS in PA.

 

SugarHouse’s iOS betting in PA

sugarhouse sportsbook ios pa

The mobile betting view on iOS is exactly what you would expect, a mobile version of the website. A quick test bet on – checks bet slip – the Braves… worked well.

Some users are reporting a few hiccups after downloading the app and revisiting the site. I received an error message after I did, but was able to ignore it and get to betting.

 

What about others?

Right now, this fix appears to be limited to SugarHouse. We tried it with Bet Rivers, which is owned by the same company as SugarHouse, but it did not work. Ditto for Parx.

Keep in mind, FanDuel Sportsbook PA is expected to launch later this month with full iOS capability.

Either way, SugarHouse Sportsbook is first to launch on iOS in PA.

 

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