Rivers Casino Pittsburg to begin trial run of sports-betting operation

The Rivers Casino on Pittsburgh’s North Shore will begin a two-day “introductory period” in which visitors can experience its sports betting operation.

Rivers Sportsbook will be open from 2 p.m. to midnight Thursday and again from noon to 10 p.m. on Friday.

Visitors will be able to place wagers on football, baseball, hockey, basketball, boxing and other sports and watch the games on 10 televisions.

Philadelphia’s SugarHouse Casino also is scheduled to begin a test period for its sports betting operation.

The Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course near Hershey began accepting bets on sporting events last month.

Before setting a regular schedule of operations, Rivers will have to wait until the state gaming commission has completed a review of how Sportsbook operated during the introductory period.

If the casino gets the state’s OK, Rivers plans to operate Sportsbook from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday and from 9 a.m. to midnight Sunday.

Included in a 2017 Pennsylvania gambling expansion law was an authorization for sports wagering as soon as a federal court ruling allowed the state to regulate such bets. The state bill also allowed as many as 10 satellite gaming sites in the state.

One of the mini-casinos is slated to be built in the Westmoreland Mall by Stadium Casino, the company that earlier this year paid $40.1 million for the mini-casino license.

The firm is planning a 100,000-square-foot gaming and entertainment facility in the former Bon-Ton department store inside the mall.