Progress in Pennsylvania for House bill 519

The fight for wider availability of legal sports wagering in the United States, now actively supported by the American Gaming Association, advanced another small step in Pennsylvania this week when the House Gaming Oversight Committee voted to progress HB519 forward.

Our readers may recall that HB519 was introduced to the House mid-February and seeks to legalise sports betting in Pennsylvania-licensed casinos provided that the pastime receives the approval of US courts or federal lawmakers.

“Sports betting is a $400 billion business in the United States,” Rep. Rob Matzie said on launching his bill. “Most of that betting takes place illegally, through bookies and off-shore wagering companies. This bill would position Pennsylvania’s casinos to be among the leaders in sports betting as soon as the legal hurdles are removed.

“Our Commonwealth is uniquely positioned to oversee sports betting in all its forms. We should be ready to act should the federal ban be lifted. Legalizing sports betting will simply enable Pennsylvania to regulate a multimillion dollar industry that already exists.”

For the past several years the state of New Jersey has been contesting the validity of the federal bans on sports betting enshrined in the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which permits sports betting in just four US states.

The Garden State has thus far been unsuccessful in a number of actions at district and appeal level courts, and its final appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was recently postponed when the Court announced that it would wait until the new U.S. Solicitor General was confirmed.

There are currently 12 licensed land casino operators in Pennsylvania.