Another Big Week for Online Poker in Pennsylvania

If you’re a keen online poker player from Pennsylvania, chances are you’ll be loving the latest political developments in the US state this week.

Firstly, the state’s House Gaming Oversight Committee that explores, researches and debates matters pertaining to gaming, passed a resolution that outlined its official opposition to the federal Restoration of America’s Wire Act, which seeks to ban online poker in the US.

A few days later, the Committee also held a two-hour long hearing on one of the three bills put forward in Pennsylvania that seeks to legalise and regulate online poker and gaming in the state.

While both events themselves have not and will not result in the legalisation of online poker in Pennsylvania, they both show that momentum in the state is swinging towards its legalisation and regulation.

The 26-member Committee voted to pass the anti-Wire Act resolution by a vote of 18 to 8. While that cannot be considered a fully unanimous vote or a landslide, it is indicative of the strong support of online poker and gaming by the majority of Pennsylvania’s state politicians.

The vote was also significant as some of those who voted for the resolution are representatives of the Republican Party.

The federal Wire Act was also put forward by a Republican Party representative and has strong support from some of its members, most notorious of which is billionaire tycoon Sheldon Adelson.

This shows that there is major disunity within that party with regards to the actions that should be taken with regards to online poker and gaming. That disunity will make it more difficult for the Wire Act to be passed in the federal US Congress.

Momentum behind the push to legalise and regulate online gaming in Pennsylvania was also boosted as a result of Thursday’s Committee hearing.

Among the issues that were discussed at the hearing were the effects of the regulation of online poker and gaming in Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware and Europe, which included revenue and job creation.

Another issue that was discussed at the hearing was its effect on already existing brick and mortar casinos, which host live poker and gaming.

Representatives from the casino industry stated that the online gaming industry tended to go hand-in-hand with live gaming and did not present a grave risk to brick and mortar establishments.

While the discussions did not lead to any vote on online poker and gaming in the state, the fact that the positive aspects of online poker regulation were highlighted at the meeting shows that there appears to be a pro-poker sentiment in Pennsylvania.

Such momentum may be boosted even further when the Gaming Oversight Committee has their next hearing next month.