Online gambling moves in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvanian House lawmakers, newly returned to work this week from their break and with scant time left before another adjournment, have jump-started activity on an omnibus gambling bill which has already been factored into state budget calculations and includes the legalisation of i-gaming and daily fantasy sports (see previous  reports).

The House Gaming Oversight committee has advised that it is to hold a hearing on September 27 to specifically explore online gambling and daily fantasy sport legalisation in US states which currently have these verticals (Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey).

Industry observers have pointed out that certainly in regard to online gambling this sort of exploration has already been exhaustively carried out by the committee as chairman John Payne has driven forward his legalisation proposal, and little has changed since then.

The DFS scene has been more dynamic as eight states have opted for formal legalisation, whilst others remain against acceptance on grounds that the vertical is de facto gambling.

Given the above, observers have questioned why a new hearing is now required, but have speculated that it may be an attempt to trigger activity in the Senate, which returns briefly to work next week, and has still to decide where it stands on the omnibus gambling package that has been proposed as a $100 million contributor to the state budget.

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