Hopes rise for online gambling in Pennsylvania

Developments late Thursday have created optimism that Pennsylvania may become the fourth US state to legalise online gambling within its borders.

Our readers will recall that there have been major differences between the House and the Senate on how to fund the state budget, with the introduction of video gaming terminals in pubs, clubs and truck stops a major point of difference which existing land casino licensees have vigorously resisted.

Over the past few weeks the ping pong of revenue raising proposals has included the VGT issue, raiding other state funds, borrowing, creating mini-casinos in rural areas and the legalisation of intrastate online casino and poker activity as politicians try to find the money for the state budget.

More recently negotiating teams from the House and the Senate have been trying to find a solution that everyone can live with, and it appears from Thursday’s developments that they have managed to put together a compromise solution that includes elements from most of the previous proposals, albeit in some cases watered down somewhat.

For example, online gambling and DFS are believed to be part of the package, along with the creation of 10 mini-casinos in rural areas operated by land casino licensees, but the scale of deployment on VGTs has reportedly been reduced.

The possibility of an end to the previous impasse was apparently real enough for Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati to recall legislators Thursday, with a budget vote scheduled for next week that could formalise arrangements.

The full details of the compromise have not yet been officially made public, leading to speculative reports in the media and across social networks.

State governor Tom Wolf reportedly favours the compromise plan, with his spokesman commenting: “There were significant meetings with leaders this week and last. Work continues and progress is being made.”

Stephen Miskin, a spokesman for House Speaker Mike Turzai, also appeared optimistic, saying: “There is no deal until there are votes. There have been some positive talks over the past week. Gov. Wolf has now been engaged, which has been helpful. The details are still being worked out and we hope to have something to share with the caucus next week.”

A spokesman for House Minority Leader Frank Dermody was less enthusiastic, saying: “We haven’t agreed to this proposal and will not until Democratic lawmakers have reviewed the details and had a chance to ask questions. We are waiting for more details on a revenue proposal that combines some new recurring revenue with some funding from one-time sources.”

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