Pennsylvania Unlikely To Approve Online Poker This YearSenate To Let Measure Die This Month: Report |
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The Pennsylvania Senate is almost surely not going to approve online gaming this year, according to comments this week out of Harrisburg.
The Morning Call reported that Senate lawmakers will let a bill the House approved last week die without a vote. The primary purpose of the legislation was to fix a complicated casino tax situation, but the House amended it last week to include online casino regulation.
The Senate doesn’t have an interest this year in bringing gaming to the internet.
The tax problem comes from the State Supreme Court ruling in September that a local share tax casinos pay on slot machine revenue is unconstitutional because it affects smaller casinos more than the bigger ones. Pennsylvania has 12 brick-and-mortar casinos.
The legislature is tasked with fixing the tax code before the money stops flowing in the spring. State casino tax revenue was unaffected by the court ruling.
More than half of slot revenue is taxed in some way.
When the Keystone State legalized casinos in 2004, it mandated that casinos pay a fee of two percent of slot revenues or $10 million (whichever is greater) to host communities.
Nearly 160 communities across the state receive casino host money.
Months before amending the casino tax bill, Pennsylvania’s House passed a separate online gambling measure in June. The Senate never voted on that proposal either.
In addition to online casinos, the House passed daily fantasy sport legislation and also tried to bring limited gambling to the state’s international airports.
Pennsylvania has a casino gambling market worth $3.1 billion. Experts estimated that online casinos would generate $300 million in revenue a year for the casinos.
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