Another Internet Gambling Bill Comes Forward In PennsylvaniaPoker-Only Proposal Hits Table |
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With California stuck in a huge hole with regards to online poker, Pennsylvania has been showing signs that it carries the best shot at legalizing online poker this year among all the states in the country considering the industry.
The first Pennsylvania online gambling bill of 2015 was introduced by Rep. John Payne last month, and just recently another bill came forward, this one from Rep. Nick Miccarelli.
The latter’s bill is poker-only, while Payne’s proposal is for more web casino games.
Miccarelli’s bill explained why it was only targeting online poker:
“Poker is unlike banking games in important respects that make it well-suited for interactive gaming. Poker operators are not participants in the games and are indifferent to the outcome because winnings come from the pool of other players, not the house. In addition, winning at poker involves some measure of skill. Skillful poker players can earn winnings in the long term, while players of banking games play against odds favoring the house.”
The proposal, which includes so-called “bad actor” provisions, calls for only intrastate poker play right now, but it gives Pennsylvania the option to partner with another U.S. state that has online gambling in order to share liquidity and generate greater revenues.
“Authorized interactive gaming, once fully developed, will allow persons in this Commonwealth to participate in interactive poker, not only with other persons in this Commonwealth, but with persons in other cooperating United States jurisdictions where interactive gaming has been authorized,” the bill said.
According to research from Morgan Stanely, U.S. online gaming could reach $5.2 billion in size by the year 2020, if Pennsylvania, along with others, have it legalized in time.
Pennsylvania concluded in a study last year that regulated online poker could be worth up to $129 million annually once it reaches maturation. It also found that house-banked online casino games could reach $178 million annually under the same conditions.
Those estimates could be on the high end, as other states with regulated online gaming have failed to meet their once-held expectations, at least so far. Also, online poker has proved to be a smaller chunk of overall I-gaming revenue in New Jersey.
Pennsylvania has 12.76 million people and 12 casinos.
Both online gambling bills in Pennsylvania would tax online gambling operators at a rate of 14 percent. Only casino operators currently in the state could run online gambling, though they would be allowed to partner with firms that specialize in online gambling products.
Just Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware have regulated online poker industries, and none of them have yet begun sharing player pools. Nevada and Delaware are close to kicking off their player pool sharing, Nevada’s governor said last month.
Here’s a look at Miccarelli’s bill, which currently has four co-sponsors.
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