The full Pennsylvania House of Representatives is poised to vote on a gaming expansion bill that includes a complete program of online gaming hosted by the state’s 12 land-based casino licensees.
HB 649, sponsored by Rep. John Payne, cleared Payne’s House Gaming Oversight Committee two weeks ago, after the panel approved a few key amendments. Among the changes, the panel raised the one-time fee for an online gaming license from $5 million to $8 million and made two amendments allowing for video gaming terminals at off-track betting locations.
The panel also raised the license fee for online gaming vendors. Such as platform providers like 888 and PokerStars, from $1 million to $2 million.
The bill would tax online gaming revenues at 14 percent, and would funnel another 2 percent of daily gross gaming revenue to local host communities, and a .002 percent share or $2 million annually, whichever is greater, for problem gambling initiatives. Another $2 million or .002 percent of GGR would go for drug and alcohol treatment programs.
In addition to the online gaming program, the bill includes a number of other gambling expansion measures, including slots at off-track betting parlors. Each Category 1 racino licensee would be permitted up to 250 slots at off-track betting parlors run by the six racetracks. Existing racetrack casinos would be permitted to place slots at up to four off-track sites each. The Gaming Oversight panel expanded the bill’s buffer zone from 35 miles to 50 miles—no OTB slots would be permitted within 50 miles of an existing racino.
The bill also would legalize slots at airports. Casino licensees would be charged with reaching agreements with local airport authorities to install slots at the state’s six airports. The number of games at airports would be set by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. License fees would be $1 million except for Pittsburgh ($2.5 million) and Philadelphia ($5 million), with a tax rate of 34 percent. Twenty percent of the collected taxes would be reserved for airport improvements.
Finally, the bill would eliminate restrictions for Category 3 resort-style casinos, allowing them to open doors to the general public without the current requirement they spend money in the adjacent resorts; and would expand alcohol sales to 24 hours in casinos.
It is unclear which of the gaming expansion measures will survive in a final House bill, although the online gaming portion has widespread support.
The iGaming portion and other expansion also could be fast-tracked as amendments to an omnibus budget bill being hammered out by both chambers of the Pennsylvania legislature. Should lawmakers take that path, iGaming in Pennsylvania could be legal by the end of the year.
Whether HB 649 clears votes in the House and Senate and is signed into law by Governor Tom Wolf or it is worked into the state budget, regulators estimate that it would take six months after legalization to complete all licensing.
