New iGaming Bill: Will Pennsylvania Follow New Jersey?

Pennsylvania is becoming a player in the online gambling movement across the US.

A History of State Gambling

As another state with legalized land-based gambling, the New Jersey neighbor is set to play a role in advancing online gambling movement across the United States.

Pennsylvania introduced online gambling by opening its first slot machine opened in 2006. Four years later, table games were added, and by 2012, Pennsylvania opened its first slot machine casino in 2006, and by 2010 table games were added to the gambling mix, and by 2012, Pennsylvania had even overtaken New Jersey as the second largest US gambling market. However, the move of Pennsylvania state to become a potential leader in state gambling and a potential player in online gambling stalled after peaking at $3.16 billion that year. Now, online gambling appears as a potential stopgap revenue source for another struggling economy.

New iGaming Bill Introduced

As a result, State Representative John Payne introduced an iGaming bill (HB 649) to the Pennsylvania state legislature in February to allow casino operators to offer online gambling in exchange for a $5 million license fee and 14% of their gross revenues. Payne at this point believe the chances of the bill passing are more promising than ever, as it has received modest support from both parties already.

His main source of optimism comes from the apparent openness of governor Ron Wolf to being shown how gambling could work in the state, so a Bill with an effective strategy could be a truly viable as well as realistic option to enable online gambling, which would make Pennsylvania the fourth state to regulate it.

Online Gambling Revenue Estimates

Payne conservatively estimates that the new bill could generate approximately $120 million from online gambling in its first year, comparable to the revenues generated by

state neighbor New Jersey. If Pennsylvania performs similarly to New Jersey, the 3 million advantage in citizenship over New Jersey in would likely translate to higher revenues for Pennsylvania, which has a population of 8.9 million.