Bill to Regulate Online Gaming Introduced in Pennsylvania

While most of the recent talk with regards to online gaming in the US has been focused on California, Pennsylvania may be one of the next states in line to legalise and regulate a market.

That is if state politician John Payne gets his way.

The state representative, who is a member of the Republican Party, introduced a bill into the state’s House of Representatives that, if passed, would allow for the establishment of an online gaming market in Pennsylvania.

Mr Payne, said that a major reason for his decision to introduce the bill – known as House Bill 649 – was to find a way to offset the state’s $2 billion budget shortfall. He also outlined that another reason for the bill was to formally cater for a market that has been established and accepted in other parts of the US.

The bill in its current form states that an online gaming company wishing to operate in Pennsylvania would be required to pay a licence fee of $5 million. Furthermore, online gaming companies who operate in the state would have to pay an interactive gaming revenue tax of 14 per cent.

Should the bill pass with both of those stipulations in place, it would likely mean that only the major online gaming company would seek to operate in Pennsylvania.

While a number of online poker companies would likely be able to afford a $5 million fee, the 14 per cent rate on their revenues could mean that some of them may feel that the prospective post-tax returns wouldn’t justify the investment costs.

However, with a population of nearly 13 million people, Pennsylvania is a large and attractive market for gaming operators. Because of this, the establishment of an online gaming market in the state would lead to expressions of interest from many online poker and gaming companies seeking to have a presence there.

According to PokerScout, the largest online poker network in New Jersey – which has a population of roughly nine million – is WSOP/888 with 220 players. Being a slightly more populated state, Pennsylvania could see online poker networks with regular seven day averages of around 400 players.

That could be enough to entice some of the major networks to establish themselves in the state should Mr Payne’s bill be enacted into law.