Online gambling’s future in Pennsylvania the focus next week

The possibility of legalised online gambling in the state of Pennsylvania will be under the spotlight on Wednesday next week when a commission tasked by the state Senate Legislative Budget and Finance Committee with studying the sector and its implications tables its report.

The investigating panel has clearly been working hard on the project, which was initiated last December and is submitting its findings sooner than was expected.

Commenting on the development, the chairman of the Community, Economic and Recreational Development Committee, state Senator Kim Ward, said:

“We wanted to see what the overall health of the casino industry is in the state and whether or not there’s room for expansion without cannibalizing what’s currently in place. We needed to take another look at the state of gaming as a whole before we said we definitely have room for online gaming.

“I think it’s a very good idea, and we’re hoping to get some answers next week.”

Pennsylvania is under pressure from already legalised internet gambling in neighbouring New Jersey and Delaware, its rivals in land casino operations as well, so the results of the investigation are important to both the state and the young US online gambling industry.

If the recommendation is negative, it is unlikely that the state legislature will see a legalisation proposal this session.

There is another element dependent on the findings; Our  readers will recall that Pennsylvania Rep. Mario Scavello has postponed the introduction of his proposal to totally ban and criminalise online gambling at player level until the results of the investigation have been made known.

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