Online gambling on Pennsylvania lawmaker's agenda next week

The old adage that it is an ill wind that blows nobody any good appears to hold true in Pennsylvania, where a House Gaming Oversight Committee is set to look into the furore around daily fantasy sports next Wednesday, but will now also include a committee vote to progress state Senator Kim Ward’s proposal to legalise online gambling.

Local media reports have for the past month commented on the possibilities for legalised online gambling and other new revenue streams to help address a $2 billion budget deficit run up by the state, rather than accept Gov. Tom Wolf’s calls for significant tax increases.

Sen. Ward’s proposal restricts online gambling to within state boundaries, with a requirement that games are to be operated by licensed state land casinos on payment of a $10 million permit fee and taxes on GGR.

With the national row over daily fantasy sports still gaining momentum the Pennsylvania House Gaming Oversight Committee chairman, Republican Rep. John Payne, said over the weekend that fantasy sports and other online games need to be closely regulated to prevent abuses and protect consumers.

“Because it’s not regulated, I don’t know if anybody has a real good idea of how much revenue is out there,” he said.

Rep. George Dunbar is spearheading a move to regulate DFS and restrict it to state licensed land casinos .