Pennsylvania lawmakers seem to have embraced the possibilities of online gaming in positive hearings on the first of three measures in the state House to legalize and regulate iGaming. However, last week, a bill intended to do just the opposite was introduced in the House.
Seven state representatives have signed on as sponsors of HB 1013, a measure that would prohibit the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board from promulgating regulations permitting any form of internet gaming.
“No individual or entity shall solicit, invite, collect or accept cash or any other form of currency through the internet for the purposes of wagering or betting,” states the bill. “No individual or entity shall organize, or cause to be organized, any type of gambling event that is held over the internet.”
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Thomas Murt, provides for a modest fine of up to $300, with the penalty increasing to $600 and a possible three-days in jail for second offences. Third and repeat offenses would be considered a third-degree misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $2,000 and up to a year in prison.
The bill has been referred to the House Gaming Oversight Committee, which is already considering a bill to regulate online gaming sponsored by the panel’s chairman, Rep. John Payne. Payne’s legislation was well-received by the committee, whose members revealed support for iGaming in the first hearing.
Murt is also on the Gaming Oversight panel, but his opposition to iGaming is the exception among members. Rep. Tina Davis, also a member of the committee, is a co-sponsor of Payne’s bill and sponsor of her own bill to legalize iGaming. She joined with other members of the committee two weeks ago to pass a resolution calling on the U.S. Congress to reject the Restoration of America’s Wire Act, the bill supported by Las Vegas Sands Chairman Sheldon Adelson that would impose a federal ban on iGaming.
Murt’s bill is identical to a 2013 bill sponsored by Rep. Paul Clymer that never made it out of the Gaming Oversight panel. Observers expect similar results for HB 1013.
Meanwhile, the committee held a public hearing last week at the Mount Airy Casino Resort on Payne’s bill to legalize iGaming. “Internet gaming is a growing business,” Payne said prior to the hearing. “Right now, millions of Americans, including many Pennsylvanians, are playing games of chance online.”
Payne’s bill would tie online gaming licenses to each of the state’s 12 land-based casinos, which would pay $5 million for a license. The state would tax online gaming revenues at 14 percent, with tax income going to the state’s General Fund.
