Pennsylvania Interest In Online Gaming 'Has Intensified'Window Is Still Open For Regulated Online Poker In Keystone State |
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Pennsylvania is now in its 106th day of a budget impasse and interest in online gaming as a way to generate more tax revenue has “intensified,” according to a report from triblive.com.
The state faces a budget deficit of up to $2 billion.
A vote on a gambling reform package that includes online gaming regulation could be on the horizon, as Republican lawmakers are pushing for alternatives to higher taxes on Pennsylvania residents.
Rep. John Payne, one of the key online gaming supporters in the Keystone State and author of a bill on the table, said that the state is also still considering slot machines at airports and skill-based gambling to shore up casino gambling revenues.
Pennsylvania concluded in a study 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.
State gambling revenue fell to just over $3 billion last year, which was the second year in a row of gaming revenue declines. The state is letting a second casino come to Philadelphia.
Slot machines are taxed at a roughly 55 percent rate while table games are taxed at 14 percent. Proposed online gaming tax rates have ranged from 15 to 54 percent.
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