Critical week for Pennsylvanian online gambling legalisation

Time is fast running out for legislation proposing the legalisation of online poker in the state of Pennsylvania; the Senate session ends on October 26 and if the Senate does not act it could mean that legalisation proposals such as HR 2150 are off the table for this year.

Our readers will recall that the state House has already approved HR2150, an omnibus bill that includes both land and online gambling changes for the state. Potential tax revenues from the bill have already been factored into state budgeting for the coming year, adding pressure for a solution.

A recent taxation ruling in the state courts may also spur the Senate on, creating more budgetary gaps that will need to be filled, and a requirement that the legislature fix the tax issues involved within a set period (see previous  reports).

There has been plenty of speculation – but no official news on progress – so far on what the state Senate will do, but with just three days of the current season left the passage or failure of this law has the industry holding its breath.

Pennsylvania’s House Majority Leader Dave Reed has reportedly said that the tax ruling is probably an incentive for the Senate to move and resolve all the gambling legislative proposals in one sweep, whilst the player’s action group Poker Players Alliance has urged its members to keep the pressure on state senators by contacting Republican and Democratic leaders in the Senate such as Jay Costa, Wayne Fontana, Camera Bartolotta and Randy Vulakovich, urging them to progress HR2150.

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