Pennsylvania Holds Online Poker Hearing

Last week, lawmakers and industry insiders held a hearing in Harrisburg to discuss the merits of online gaming in Pennsylvania.

There are a pair of bills currently on the table in the state that would legalize and regulate online poker sites from the state’s existing brick-and-mortar casinos and their respective technology partners headquartered wherever.

According to mainlinemedianews.com, testifying at the hearing was Caesars Entertainment Group Executive Vice President Jan Jones Blackhurst, who spoke about how online gambling is already happening in the state, but without generating any tax revenue for Pennsylvania.

Caesars recently announced that it would be lobbying with PokerStars, which is under the ownership of Amaya Gaming Group, for regulated online poker in America. PokerStars doesn’t have a potential partner yet in Pennsylvania. Caesars has ventured into online gaming in Nevada and New Jersey through a deal with Gibraltar-based 888 Holdings.

“Today’s reality is that Internet gambling is taking place in all 50 states, almost all of it illegally,” Blackhurst said. “It’s an environment that’s ripe for fraud and criminal activity and it provides no tax revenue…The online gambling experience in the states has been successful in the jurisdictions where it has been tried. One of the simple things we need to realize is that Internet gaming is here to stay, whether it is illegal or regulated.”

According to the report, Rep. John Payne, one of the men spearheading online poker efforts in Pennsylvania, said that more hearings will be scheduled to discuss his plan.

Pennsylvania is probably the state most likely to legalize online poker next, as California has proven to be at a stand-still on the issue and could remain so for the next few years.

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.

Pennsylvania has 12.76 million people and 12 casinos.

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