Pennsylvania Set to Approve Online Gambling
Citizens of Pennsylvania should be rejoicing this morning, as it’s been revealed that the state is likely to approve online gambling.
The announcement came during a one-on-one interview with Pennsylvania House Gaming Oversight Committee Executive William Thomas. He states that he believes in the importance of online gambling to the citizens of Pennsylvania, and he wants to integrate the interests of the state with the interests of the people.
As we mentioned before, there are two key states that are considering legalizing and regulating online gambling. Those two states are California and Pennsylvania. With California likely off the table until mid-2015, Pennsylvania was the only hope. This move will allow Pennsylvania to not only compete with the three states that have already legalized online gambling (New Jersey, Nevada, and Delaware), but it’ll give Pennsylvania the edge when competing with nearby states that have land-based casinos closer to some Pennsylvania citizens.
William Thomas went on to say that he’d like to see the online gambling industry “regulated in Pennsylvania so that we can get the tax revenue and we can protect our constituents and citizens from somebody’s unregulated sites that they’re going on right now.”
Once online gaming becomes regulated in Pennsylvania, citizens should expect to see sites running frequent bonuses and promotions, including no deposit bonuses. These promotions give players an edge that they wouldn’t have in a land-based casino, so more people will likely come to those websites instead of traveling to a local land-based casino.
This news falls in line with the article we wrote last week where Morgan Stanley predicted that online gambling will be legalized and regulated in at least 20 states by the year 2020. Obviously, Pennsylvania isn’t the biggest state out there, but other states will see the revenue that Pennsylvania generates as an example of the extra money that could be generated for their state.
Don’t expect to see it regulated in Pennsylvania in the immediate future, though. There’s a lot of bureaucratic red tape and legal hurdles to clear before anything can happen. The early estimates point at a poker-only bill by 2016, and fully regulated online gambling in 2017.
However, should everything get approved, Pennsylvanians have a bright future to look forward to. Analysts estimate that tax revenue generated from online gambling could bring in more than $110 million annually. That money will get pumped back into the state and improve everything from education to roadways.
While it won’t change anything for the immediate future, this is great news for the industry. What happens next is anyone’s guess, but hopefully this will push those in charge in California toward discussing, approving, and finally legalizing and regulating online gambling.