Those of you who have been actively following the issue with Pennsylvania and its complicated love-hate relationship with online gambling would know that the state has been actively trying to legalize online casinos for the past seven years, with new attempts popping up every few months and always being shot down somewhere along the way. According to Pennsylvania Representative John Payne, there have been over 50 meetings related to the subject in just the past 18 months, none of which led anywhere, as the previous bill was shot down by the House in May. However, it seems as if the latest attempt just might be successful – late last month, Pennsylvania’s House managed to pass a bill with a vote of 114-85 which allows for online gambling (including online betting, bingo and poker) to be regulated on the territory on the state. That’s really the first step in a long and complicated process that’s surely going to take some time, but it’s the farthest that any bill of this sort has gone before. After that success, the legislation will move to the Senate for consideration, and if it gets passed there as well, it’ll be up to Gov. Tom Wolf to either veto it or sign it into law.
According to the newest bill, only the state’s 12 physical casinos would be allowed to branch out and operate online counterparts, but even with that limitation, things are looking very bright for fans of online gambling within the state, especially considering the fact that a mere three states have legalized online gambling in the US up until this point, one of which being Nevada (also known as “that state which also has Las Vegas in it”). While the UK and numerous EU countries have been very lax with the prospect of online gambling, with online casinos prospering in Germany, Spain and others, the US in particular has never really seen much benefit in legalizing that form of gambling despite the immense profits that it’ll inevitably bring. If this bill is successful, for example, then the newly founded casinos are going to be taxed 16%, which is going to lead to tens of millions of dollars in revenue for the state – the majority of which is essentially free money. While there have been some concerns that online gambling would lead to gambling profits being taken out of the country and poured into foreign markets (ex. into British online casinos), the new bill seems particularly designed to prevent that from happening, which leaves very little reason to be opposed to the change. Here’s hoping that the Senate and the Governor will be able to see things that way as well and will finally turn a dream that’s seven years in the making into a reality. Pennsylvania gamblers – we’ll be expecting a beer if this happens!