- The Pennsylvania Senate Committee for Community, Economic and Recreational Development voted 14-0 on Tuesday to advance a resolution calling for a study of the viability of online gambling in the state.
- A full senate vote on the measure is expected on Wednesday.
- If approved, the study would be due to the General Assembly by May 1 2014 allowing lawmakers time to include it in the 2014-2015 state budget.
The Pennsylvania Senate Committee for Community, Economic and Recreational Development voted 14-0 on Tuesday to advance a resolution calling for a study of the viability of online gambling in the state.
A full senate vote on the measure is expected on Wednesday.
If approved, the study would be completed by the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee with a report of findings and recommendations due to the General Assembly by May 1, 2014, allowing lawmakers time to include it in the 2014-2015 state budget.
State Senate President Pro Tempore Joseph B. Scarnati III (R-Jefferson) is the primary sponsor of the measure that cites the plateau and decline of state gaming revenues at select facilities. It also addresses “growing regional competition” as the reasons for assessing the potential for growth of gaming in the state.
“The introduction and expansion of gaming in the states that border this Commonwealth have caused the Mid-Atlantic region to become an extremely competitive market,” according to the resolution.
Bordering states New Jersey and Delaware have both recently added online gaming to their gaming offerings as land-based gaming continues to grow in New York, Ohio and Maryland.
The proposal is likely to face opposition from at least one of the current casino license holders. The Sands Casino in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania is owned by the Las Vegas Sands Corp. whose CEO, Sheldon Adelson, plans to ramp up his war on online gambling in January with the launch of the Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling (CSIG). The CSIG plans to lobby at both state and federal levels to prevent the proliferation of online gaming.
Pennsylvania lawmakers have been divided about the issue of online gaming in the recent past as Pennsylvania State Representative Tina Davis (D-Bucks County) introduced an online gaming bill in April, and in May State Representative Paul Clymer introduced a bill to ban all forms of internet gambling. However, neither measure was able to gain any traction during the legislative session.
