Gaming and Leisure Properties
A U.S. real estate investment trust that owns casino and gaming properties and leases them to gaming operators.
Last updated August 21, 2026
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Overview
Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. is a United States real estate investment trust focused on the ownership, acquisition, development financing, and long-term leasing of gaming-related real estate. The company was created in 2013 through a tax-oriented corporate separation from Penn National Gaming, now known as Penn Entertainment. Its business model separates property ownership from casino operations: GLPI generally owns the land, buildings, and other real estate associated with casinos, racinos, and related entertainment facilities, while operating companies run the gaming businesses under long-term leases. The company was established at a time when casino operators were increasingly evaluating real estate investment trust structures as a way to unlock property value and potentially improve capital efficiency. GLPI became the first publicly traded U.S. REIT dedicated primarily to gaming properties. Rather than depending principally on gaming revenue, it receives contractual rent from tenants. This structure gives the company exposure to the gaming sector while leaving day-to-day casino management, marketing, labor, and regulatory operations to its tenants. GLPI expanded beyond its original Penn National portfolio through acquisitions, sale-leaseback transactions, financing arrangements, and property purchases connected with mergers and operator restructurings. Important transactions included the acquisition of properties from Casino Queen, Pinnacle Entertainment, Tropicana Entertainment, Bally’s, Cordish Companies, Caesars Entertainment, and other gaming groups. The Pinnacle transaction significantly broadened GLPI’s portfolio, while the Tropicana and Bally’s transactions added properties and tenants across numerous U.S. gaming jurisdictions. The company’s properties include regional casinos, racinos, resort casinos, hotel-casino complexes, and development sites. Its tenants have included Penn Entertainment, Bally’s Corporation, Boyd Gaming, Caesars Entertainment, the Cordish Companies, and Strategic Gaming Management. Lease agreements typically provide for fixed base rent, and some include escalators or other contractual provisions intended to support long-term rent growth. GLPI has also used loans and development financing to establish or deepen relationships with casino operators, sometimes later taking ownership of real estate when loans were repaid through property transfers or other settlements. GLPI has progressively concentrated on being a pure-play gaming-property owner. In 2021, it sold the operating businesses of Hollywood Casino Perryville and Hollywood Casino Baton Rouge, reducing its direct involvement in casino operations. This allowed the company to emphasize its landlord role and pursue a more consistent real estate and lease-income strategy. The company operates in a heavily regulated industry even though it does not generally run the casinos itself. Its properties are affected by state gaming approvals, zoning, racing regulation, taxation, market competition, tenant credit quality, and changes in consumer demand. The landlord model also creates exposure to the financial strength of casino operators, particularly during periods of closures or declining gaming activity. During the COVID-19 pandemic, GLPI used rent credits, property transactions, and financing arrangements to support certain tenants while preserving its long-term real estate interests. GLPI remains a publicly traded U.S. REIT headquartered in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. Its positioning is that of a specialized gaming real estate platform rather than a consumer-facing casino brand. The company’s identity is built around owning scarce, strategically located gaming assets and leasing them to operators under long-duration contractual arrangements.
History
Gaming and Leisure Properties was formed in November 2013 through the separation of Penn National Gaming’s real estate assets from its casino operating business. The structure was intended to allow the property company to operate as a REIT and to give investors a separate vehicle for exposure to gaming real estate. GLPI began with Penn-related assets and a strategy based on owning casino land and buildings while leasing them to operating companies. Early activity combined acquisitions with development financing. In late 2013, GLPI agreed to finance a proposed casino in Milford, Massachusetts, but the project ended when voters rejected it. In January 2014, it acquired the real estate of Casino Queen in East St. Louis for $140 million and leased the property back to its operator. It also provided a $43 million loan. Later that year, Argosy Casino Sioux City closed and GLPI sold the associated real estate. GLPI’s planned purchase of The Meadows Racetrack and Casino in Pennsylvania became contentious. The company initially agreed to a $465 million acquisition from Cannery Casino Resorts, with the operating license intended to be transferred to another operator. After disputes and litigation, including allegations of fraud brought by GLPI, the parties settled on revised terms and a lower purchase price. GLPI completed the property acquisition in 2016 and transferred the operating business to Pinnacle Entertainment. The company’s largest early expansion came through Pinnacle Entertainment. After Pinnacle proposed creating its own REIT, GLPI publicly pursued an alternative transaction. In 2015, the companies agreed that GLPI would acquire 14 of Pinnacle’s 15 properties for approximately $4.75 billion in stock and lease them back to Pinnacle. The transaction closed in 2016 and established GLPI as a much larger national gaming landlord. GLPI continued expanding through operator transactions. In 2017, it purchased the real estate of two Tunica properties while Penn National acquired their operating businesses. In 2018, GLPI acquired the real estate of five casinos from Tropicana Entertainment for approximately $964 million. The deal was part of a wider transaction in which Eldorado Resorts acquired Tropicana’s operating business and became the tenant for the properties. The Penn National acquisition of Pinnacle later that year also changed GLPI’s tenant relationships: Boyd Gaming assumed operations at several leased properties, and GLPI acquired additional assets including Plainridge Park Casino while providing financing connected with Belterra Park. The COVID-19 pandemic tested casino operators and their landlords as gaming facilities closed or operated under restrictions. In 2020, GLPI acquired the real estate of Tropicana Las Vegas from Penn National in exchange for rent credits, with Penn retaining operations for a transition period. GLPI also took ownership of Lumière Place from Caesars Entertainment after a loan was settled through transfer of the property. In 2021, GLPI sold the operating businesses of Hollywood Casino Perryville and Hollywood Casino Baton Rouge. This move clarified its strategic direction: the company would focus on owning and leasing gaming real estate rather than directly operating casinos. The same year, GLPI expanded its relationship with Bally’s Corporation through the acquisition of Dover Downs and additional agreements involving Tropicana Las Vegas and other properties. Bally’s subsequently became one of GLPI’s significant tenants. GLPI also developed relationships with other major operators. In 2022, it completed a transaction with the Cordish Companies involving the real estate of Live Casino & Hotel Maryland, Live Casino & Hotel Philadelphia, and Live Casino Pittsburgh. The properties were leased back to Cordish, and the companies also discussed cooperation on future casino developments. Subsequent expansion included the land supporting Hard Rock Casino Rockford, Bally’s properties in Rhode Island, Mississippi, Missouri, and Louisiana, Tioga Downs in New York, and properties operated by Strategic Gaming Management in Nevada, South Dakota, and New Mexico. Through these transactions, GLPI broadened its portfolio across regional casino, racino, hotel-casino, and development-site categories. Today, GLPI’s business is primarily a landlord and capital provider to gaming operators. Its portfolio includes properties leased to Bally’s, Boyd Gaming, Caesars Entertainment, Cordish, Penn Entertainment, Strategic Gaming Management, and other operators. The company’s principal risks include tenant financial health, gaming regulation, property concentration, interest rates, development execution, and the cyclical nature of casino demand. Its core competitive proposition is the ownership of specialized gaming assets that are difficult to replicate and are leased under long-term contractual arrangements.
- 2024
Further regional portfolio expansion
[1]GLPI adds Tioga Downs, Bally’s Kansas City, Bally’s Shreveport, and several properties associated with Strategic Gaming Management.
- 2022
Cordish portfolio transaction
[1]GLPI completes the acquisition of three Live casino properties and leases them back to Cordish.
- 2021
Exit from direct casino operations
[1]GLPI sells the operating businesses of two casinos and emphasizes its specialized landlord strategy.
- 2018
Tropicana real estate acquisition
[1]GLPI acquires the real estate of five Tropicana properties through a wider operator and landlord transaction.
- 2016
Pinnacle portfolio acquisition completed
[1]The major acquisition closes, materially increasing GLPI’s portfolio and national presence.
- 2015
Pinnacle transaction agreed
[1]GLPI reaches an agreement to acquire 14 Pinnacle properties for stock and lease them back to Pinnacle.
- 2014
Casino Queen real estate acquisition
[1]GLPI acquires the Casino Queen real estate in East St. Louis and leases it back to the operator while providing financing.
- 2013
Formation through Penn National spin-off
[1]GLPI is established as a separately traded REIT through the separation of Penn National Gaming’s gaming real estate from its operating business.
Products and positioning
A specialized U.S. REIT providing real estate capital to casino and gaming operators through property ownership, sale-leasebacks, financing, and long-term leases.
Gaming property ownership · 2013
Casino and resort real estate
GLPI owns the land, buildings, and associated real estate of casino resorts, regional casinos, racinos, and related gaming facilities. The company generally does not operate the gaming businesses itself. Instead, it leases properties to established operators under long-term agreements, allowing GLPI to earn contractual rent while tenants manage gaming, hospitality, entertainment, staffing, and regulatory operations.
Real estate finance · 2013
Sale-leaseback transactions
Sale-leaseback transactions are a central part of GLPI’s model. A gaming operator transfers ownership of casino real estate to GLPI and leases the property back, receiving capital while continuing to run the facility. GLPI gains a long-term rent stream and property ownership, while the operator can redeploy capital toward operations, development, debt reduction, or acquisitions.
Development finance · 2013
Gaming development financing
GLPI provides financing for selected gaming developments and property acquisitions. These arrangements can involve loans, rent credits, property purchases, or future ownership rights. The approach enables GLPI to support tenants and potential partners while building a pipeline of gaming real estate investments, although projects remain subject to licensing, financing, voter approval, construction, and market risks.
Brand decisions
2022
Acquire three Cordish casino propertiesM&ABackground
GLPI sought to expand its portfolio through a sale-leaseback with the Cordish Companies.
Action taken
GLPI acquired the real estate of Live Casino & Hotel Maryland, Live Casino & Hotel Philadelphia, and Live Casino Pittsburgh and leased the properties back to Cordish.
Aftermath
The transaction added three large regional casino assets and established Cordish as a significant tenant relationship.
Purchase price. Approximately $1.8 billion (Agreement announced 2021; completed 2022)
2021
Concentrate on real estate ownershipStrategyBackground
GLPI owned or controlled the operating businesses of two casinos but was increasingly positioning itself as a specialized gaming landlord.
Action taken
The company sold the operating businesses of Hollywood Casino Perryville and Hollywood Casino Baton Rouge.
Aftermath
GLPI reduced direct operating exposure and reinforced its focus on rent-producing real estate assets.
Combined sale proceeds. Approximately $59 million (2021)
2015
Pursue Pinnacle’s casino real estateM&ABackground
Pinnacle Entertainment had proposed its own REIT separation, creating an opportunity for GLPI to expand through a competing property transaction.
Action taken
GLPI publicly pursued and then agreed to acquire 14 of Pinnacle’s 15 properties for approximately $4.75 billion in stock, with the properties leased back to Pinnacle.
Aftermath
The transaction closed in 2016 and substantially expanded GLPI’s scale and geographic diversification.
Purchase consideration. Approximately $4.75 billion in stock consideration (2015 agreement; completed 2016)
2013
Adopt a gaming-focused REIT structureStrategyBackground
Penn National Gaming sought to separate its gaming operations from its property ownership and use the REIT framework to create a distinct real estate investment platform.
Action taken
GLPI was formed as a standalone publicly traded REIT focused on owning casino properties and leasing them to operators.
Aftermath
The structure became the foundation for GLPI’s landlord-oriented business model and subsequent portfolio expansion.
Recent events
Penn National Gaming sold Tropicana resort real estate assets[3]
Reported:
Penn National Gaming sold the Tropicana resort's real estate assets on the Las Vegas Strip to Gaming & Leisure Properties for $337.5 million in rent credits; Penn National will continue to operate the resort.
Sources3 sources
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