A report by gaming analyst Gambling Compliance attempts to set a reasonable revenue projection for Pennsylvania should the state move forward with a plan to legalize online gaming.
A bill to allow online gaming was passed by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in June and Governor Tom Wolf agreed to earmark $100 million from expanded gambling as part of the 2016-17 fiscal year budget.
However, momentum for the bill in the state Senate stalled, and according to Gambling Compliance, the Senate is still weighing whether to assemble the bill this fall or early next year.
In its report, Gambling Compliance projects that Pennsylvania’s prospective online gambling industry will generate $203 million in gross gaming revenue during its first year, growing 52.2 percent to $309.2 million by year four.
The figures are based on an analysis of online gambling in neighboring New Jersey. The research report predicts Pennsylvania’s online casino market will growing by 71 percent from its first year to its fourth compared to New Jersey where online casino revenue is projected to grow by 82.7 percent from 2014 to 2016.
The report concludes that Pennsylvania’s market could get off to a faster start than New Jersey, since the state can learn from New Jersey’s start-up problems with geolocation and other software problems.
