Pennsylvania now has two online poker bills introduced to the State Legislature.
State Rep. Nick Miccarelli has introduced the second bill, which has some of the same provisions as a bill introduced by Rep. John Payne.
Both bills include a 14 percent tax rate and $5 million required deposit.
But there are two major differences in the bill. Miccarelli’s bill defines “authorized game” as “any interactive poker game approved by the board pursuant to this chapter.”
While Payne’s bill also speaks primarily to online poker, its language was amended to possibly allow online casino games in addition to poker.
“Poker is unlike banking games in many respects that make it best for the introduction of interactive gaming,” Miccarelli said in a press statement. “Poker operators are not participants in the games and are indifferent as to the outcome.”
Miccarelli’s bill also includes a “bad actor” clause. The language would exclude trademarks, trade names, service marks, databases, customer lists, software, hardware, or individuals that participated in the U.S. market without proper licensing after December 31, 2006.
Payne’s bill drew notice for not including a bad actor clause, which many saw as opening the door for PokerStars—which was shut down in the U.S. by the Department of Justice in 2011 for accepting U.S. player’s bets—to seek a license in the state.
Miccarelli’s bill, however, seems specifically aimed at Amaya Gaming’s purchase of PokerStars. The bill disallows online operators that have been purchased directly or indirectly by a third-party in connection with interactive gaming.
