Penn. egaming bill could be introduced this week
Pennsylvania Rep. Tina Davis' legislation would initially allow only online poker and blackjack.
Pennsylvania Representative and Democrat Tina Davis hopes to introduce the state’s first ever online gambling bill in the House of Representatives later this week.
Davis’ proposal would initially legalise online poker and blackjack, while only existing slot and table game licence holders would be authorised to host an internet offering.
As revealed in Davis’ memo submitted last month, the licence application fee which would be set at US$16.7m and the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board would regulate the industry, as well as establish a “reasonable” tax rate. Davis also sits on the state’s House Committee for Gaming Oversight which is charged with overseeing policy before bills reach full floor votes.
“It will happen eventually,” she told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “We tried to determine what the most popular types of online games there were out there, but we also didn’t want to discourage folks from going to the casinos. We tried to strike a balance. We structured the bill to still entice folks to go to the casinos.
“This is simply the first step. But as New Jersey moves toward approving [online gaming] “ and other states around us continue to expand gaming, like Maryland, New York and Ohio “ I am hopeful that we can have that debate. There is an urgency to get this done, but I am not naive to believe that it will happen overnight,” she added.
The proceeds from internet gaming would be split between the Property Tax Relief Fund and the State Lottery Fund.
Davis also claimed that the timing of the introduction of her legislation would be unrelated to the situation surrounding the state lottery privatisation contract. Last week Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane said that Camelot’s successful bid to manage it is illegal and argued that Governor Tom Corbett overstepped his authority by approving it.