Pennsylvania senator unveils online gaming bill

another online gambling and gaming reform bill has been presented in Pennsylvania. The 207-page online gambling and gaming reform piece of legislation has been officially introduced by a number of Democratic State Senators.

Senate Bill 524 focuses on legalising and regulating online gambling operations across the state, whilst also seeking to legalise daily fantasy sports and online lottery.

The four supporters and co-sponsors of the bill are Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, Senator Vincent Hughes, Senator Judy Schwank and Senator Wayne Fontana.

Bill 524 is the third piece of online gambling legislation following the SB 477 and HB 392 that was introduced in the state House of Representative last month. Although some of the provisions presented by the new bill are similar to the ones incorporated in its predecessors, it includes some reforms, mainly in terms of taxation and fees.

The Bill restores the local share tax imposed on host and surrounding communities. As well as the allowance for online gambling and DFS, the changes also include mobile tablet gaming at select airports and fixing the unconstitutional slots tax imposed on Category 3 casinos.

Nonetheless, the Bill, headed up by Senator Costa would impose a 25% tax on online gambling and DFS revenue, versus HB 392’s far more tolerable 14%.

Furthermore, the newly-presented piece of legislation also offers a larger licensing fee estimated to $10m, in comparison to the previous $8m. The bill also charges a loftier rate for industry vendors, boosting the sum from $2m to $5m.

The House Gaming Oversight Committee has scheduled its next hearing on the various gambling expansion proposals for 28 March 2017.