A key Pennsylvania lawmaker says 2016 has a very good chance of being the year the state passes a bill to legalize online gaming.
Rep. John Payne, chairman of the House Gaming Oversight Committee, predicted in an interview with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that the legislature will clear at least some of the measures in the comprehensive iGaming bill he submitted last year by July.
“Look, we need revenue,” Payne told the newspaper. “They’re not going to find votes for (higher) taxes in an election year. So I would think gaming will be a component.”
Payne’s bill would legalize a complete slate of online poker and casino games, to be managed and conducted by licensed land-base casino operators in the state. The gaming revenue tax would be 14 percent, plus 2 percent to host communities of the licensees, who would each pay an $8 million license fee.
Online gaming suppliers stand to be big winners in legal iGaming in the state. Chris Capra, U.S. marketing director for 888poker and 888casino, told the Tribune-Review, “If Pennsylvania comes online, that’s a huge market, much bigger than Jersey. It doubles the player pool, which is awesome.” Pennsylvania would join neighbors New Jersey and Delaware, as well as Nevada, as the only states in the U.S. where iGaming is legal.
