As we mentioned just two days ago, the state of Pennsylvania was set to discuss online gaming on Tuesday as part of The Current Condition and Future Viability of Casino Gaming in Pennsylvania hearing. The hearing was scheduled to cover the information found by a recent study conducted in the state and would be heard by the Pennsylvania Senate Community, Economic and Recreational Development Committee. Several officials attended the meeting and there was a mix of both those for and against the option in attendance.
During the meeting, both The House and Senate announced that a bill would be created for online poker legalization in the state, and should be introduced in the coming weeks. According to Pokerfuse, the state of New Jersey was mentioned during the meeting by The Chairman of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, William Ryan, who wanted to avoid over-estimating revenue expectations. Ryan mentioned New Jersey to the legislators and warned they should take caution when estimating revenues as New Jersey estimated high returns and were unable to generate the high amounts that had been projected.
Ryan further stated that online gaming in the state should not be rushed and legislators should take their time. The Chairman believes that the state needs at least a year to be ready to launch online gambling options.
According to the results of the Econsult Solutions study, the state is projected to earn $68 million in tax revenues during the first year and then $110 million in the years after. Licensing fees have been proposed at $5 million per applicant and this amount has not been included in the projections.
Wendy Hamilton is the General Manager of the Sugar House Casino and she attended the meeting, advocating caution when it comes to online gambling. Hamilton stated that the state should wait a year to observe the states that already offer online gaming. She is still concerned with what online gambling will do to the land based casinos in the state and stated there are no facts to show if the option is helpful or harmful to brick and mortar casinos.
On the flip-side, The Senior Vice President at Caesars Acquisition Company, Michael Cohen, stated that online gaming is not taking over land based business and stated that 91% of the business conducted online for Caesars poker option is with new players. Cohen went so far as to stated that Pennsylvania needs to push on and launch online gaming and then create a long implementation period so law makers can be comfortable with the technology and still avoid a possible federal ban online gaming.
The hearing clearly showed that there is mixed views on the subject of online gaming in the state. It will most likely be some time before there is any movement in the direction of iGaming in Pennsylvania.
100% up to $3,000 Bonus
Bovada is our most recommended ONLINE CASINO and POKER ROOM for US players with excellent deposit options. Get your 100% signup bonus today.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.