PRESS RELEASE
HARRISBURG: The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (“Board”) today unanimously voted to renew the Category 2 stand-alone casino license of Wind Creek Bethlehem, LLC, operator of Wind Creek Bethlehem casino in Northampton County.
In making the decision, the Board determined that Wind Creek Bethlehem, LLC had fulfilled the obligations under its previously approved casino operator’s license and therefore qualified to have its license renewed for an additional five-year period.
The decision to renew the license was based on a process utilized by the Board that enables both the operator and the public to provide information relevant to the renewal decision. A public input hearing was held in July 2024 in the casino’s host municipality, the City of Bethlehem, where personnel of Wind Creek Bethlehem submitted exhibits and presented testimony on various aspects of the facility’s operation since its last license renewal was granted. The public was also permitted to provide testimony about the casino and its impact in the community.
In reaching its decision, the Board also received information from local government officials, community groups and the PA State Police, along with the Gaming Control Board’s Office of Enforcement Counsel, Bureau of Investigations and Enforcement, Office of Compulsive and Problem Gaming, and Bureau of Casino Compliance.
Additionally, a public hearing was held in Harrisburg today to permit Board members to further question Wind Creek Bethlehem, LLC representatives about any remaining issues prior to voting on the renewal.
Since its opening in May 2009 through September 2024, Wind Creek Bethlehem has generated over $7 billion in revenue from the play of retail slot machines and table games, sports wagering and iGaming, and has returned to the Commonwealth a total of $2.9 billion from tax revenue, assessments and fees. Wind Creek Bethlehem currently operates 2,318 slot machines, 202 table games and a 20-table poker room while providing employment to 2,242 persons directly or through third-party tenants in the events center, food and beverage outlets or retail stores. 94% of those employees are Pennsylvania residents.
A PowerPoint presentation provided at the meeting, which includes more details on Wind Creek Bethlehem, is available on the Board’s website, www.gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov, under the About PGCB/Board Meetings tab and calendar date October 23, 2024.
About the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is tasked to oversee all aspects of gambling involving 17 land-based casinos, online casino games, retail and online sports wagering, and Video Gaming Terminals (VGTs) at qualified truck stops, along with the regulation of online fantasy sports contests.
The land-based casino industry in Pennsylvania consists of six racetrack (Category 1) casinos, five stand-alone (Category 2) casinos, two resort (Category 3) casinos and four mini-casinos (Category 4). A significant job generator in the Commonwealth, casinos and the other types of Board-regulated gaming generated $2.54 billion in tax revenue in Fiscal Year 2023/24.
Additional information about both the PGCB’s gaming regulatory efforts and Pennsylvania’s gaming industry can be found at gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov.