Pennsylvania Online Gaming Bill
Pennsylvania gaming bill under the name House Bill 2150 that is supposed to legalize and regulate online gaming including online casinos and daily fantasy sport (DFS) might be revisited on a hearing this week and possibly approved by the Senate. In June this year the bill passed the House of Representatives, but the final approval by the senate and the governor is still pending. It is estimated that by approving the bill the state would benefit from the revenue of up to $100 million from online gambling and DFS thanks to license fees and tax. The last window for this year closes on Wednesday 26th, which is marked as the final legislative session in 2016.
Online Gambling and DFS Bill Made it Halfway to the Senate
There have been many attempts to introduce a bill to legalize online gambling, but the only one that resonated and received the attention of the lawmakers was the one proposed by Representative John Payne who introduced the House Bill 2150 this year in June. The bill to allow online gambling and daily fantasy sports including online slot machines at airports passed the House of Representatives with the voting result 114-85. However, that is not to say that everything went smoothly. The bill had to be amended, that is to exclude the part about Video Game Terminals that would allow bars and taverns to offer video games, but the problem was that this would mean that they would need to acquire liquor license as well. This part of the bill was not acceptable so the bill was not approved by the House of the Representatives until it was eliminated from the draft.
Following the approval of the Representatives, the House Bill 2150 was only a few steps away from being put in motion. It required the approval of the senate and the signature of the Governor. This was expected to be solved by July, but unfortunately, the issue is still open.
The Window Is Slowly Closing
This week is the last chance for the bill to be approved by the Senate in the current year, being that October 26th is the last session for this year. The prospects are still unclear but the sponsor of the bill Rep. Payne who will be retired by the end of next month is optimistic about his bill being passed before he withdraws from the political scene.
According to Rep. John Payne, the significance of the bill reflects in the financial benefit that it will bring to the state budget. Furthermore he adds that many online casino operators are operating out of state on neighboring legalized markets. By legalizing online gambling Pennsylvania would generate revenue of $100 million and remain competitive.
The casinos interested in expanding their offering to online niche would have to acquire a five-year license at the cost of $8 million, while the licence would be subject to renewal fees of $250,000. In addition to this, any partner of theirs providing technology or content would also have to acquire a licence which would cost $2 million while renewal fees would be $100,000.
