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Betting on College Teams in Philadelphia, PA

Prominent College Teams in Philadelphia

 Villanova, Temple, St. Joseph’s, LaSalle, Penn, Drexel 

Philadelphia calls its local colleges “The Big 5’’ in basketball, although a sixth school, Drexel should be included as well. 

Villanova, who won two National Championships in basketball in 2016 and 2018, went 26-10 out of the Big East last season but lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament to Purdue. The Wildcats are projected as a top 10 team for 2020.

Temple went 23-10 playing in the AAC and made the NCAA Tournament before losing to upstart Belmont in the First Four game. That was the final game of the coaching career of Fran Dunphy. Temple’s new head coach is Aaron McKie, a former star for the Owls. 

St. Joseph’s had a rough season in the Atlantic 10. Picked to finish second before the season the Hawks finished 14-19 and fired long-time head coach Phil Martelli. Next season should be interesting for first-year coach Billy Lange. 

It was worse for LaSalle in the Atlantic 10. The Explorers were a dismal 10-21 and the future does not appear to be much brighter. 

Penn actually won the mythical Big 5 title and went 19-12 on the season. The Quakers, however, finished just fourth in the Ivy League behind Yale, Harvard, and Princeton.

Drexel, once a contender in the Colonial Athletic Association, finished the season 13-19 and in sixth place in the league. 

Temple is the only one of the six schools with Division I football. The Owls went 8-5 overall and 7-1 in the AAC where they finished second to Houston.     

Sports Betting in Philadelphia

You can bet on sports legally in Pennsylvania and there are five casinos in the Philadelphia area where you can do so. 

SugarHouse Casino: Located in what’s known as Fishtown in Philadelphia, the casino sits off the Delaware River. SugarHouse is partnered with Rivers Casino across the state in Pittsburgh and the parent company is Rush Street. 

Valley Forge Casino: Located outside the city limits in King of Prussia (west of the city by less than an hour), VF is partnered with FanDuel. 

Harrah’s Casino and Racetrack: Located just south of the city limits in Chester, Harrah’s offers sports betting as well as live harness racing. 

Mount Airy Casino Resort: This is the furthest from the city limits in the Pocono Mountain area. It is partnered with BetStars and PokerStars. 

Parx Casino: Connected to Parx Racetrack, it is located just north of the city in Bensalem. Owned by Greenwood Gaming, it is the top-grossing casino in the area. 

According to Pennsylvania law, a sportsbook must house a functional building before it can launch online and mobile wagering. SugarHouse became the first Philadelphia area house to start an online betting app when it began testing its site on May 28, 2019. The other betting houses are certain to follow in the near-online sports betting future, with Harrahs. Parx, and Mount Airy on the way. 

Best Sports Sites in Philadelphia

The biggest media outlet in the city is the Philadelphia Inquirer/Daily News (inquirer.com). You can always go to the team’s sites for up to date information on injuries and schedules. Philadelphia’s teams websites are some of the best in the country.