It was bad news for supporters of online poker in Pennsylvania, when the state’s House of Representatives rejected a plan yesterday to introduce regulated online casino games. The semi good news, however, is that the House of Representatives has stated that it will reconsider the proposal to legalize online gambling at a later date.
The 107-81 vote defeat could have been the result of the fact that the proposal came together with a request to expand video gaming terminals in Pennsylvania, not a popular option right now. It may be that the legalization of online casino games in the Keystone State has a better chance of passing the House of Representatives successfully if the issue is debated and voted on separately from the VGT expansion proposal.
The sponsor of the internet gambling bill, Rep. John Payne is pushing the expansion as a way of helping to solve the state’s $50 billion pension problem. The state’s casino market is worth around $3 billion every year.
Another representative who had his say in the House was George Dunbar who sought to clarify the fears brought up by opponents that credit cards would be used for funding online gaming accounts.
Dunbar told those present that they could, “gamble online in Pennsylvania right now”.
“Maybe not in this building because of firewalls,” he said, “but I guarantee you, I can walk out of this building and play poker tonight at the Radisson Hotel. I can use a credit card to do it.”
Dunbar said that the proposed bill focused on protecting Pennsylvanian consumers.
Payne then thanked Dunbar for his input, saying that his colleague had more knowledge of gaming than he did. Payne explained that his entire intent when introducing the bill was to protect “my children, my grandchildren, [and] the compulsive gamers”.
“Make no mistake,” he added, “you can gambling online right now without this bill using a credit card”.
Payne urged those who were in opposition of the internet gambling bill not to use their opposition as an excuse that they wanted to protect Pennsylvanians, pointing out the list of consumer protections in the bill’s amendments.
“It behooves us to make sure our casinos do well because we get more money,” said Payne, pointing out that the government was the “majority shareholder” in the casino industry, earning 54% of the revenue.
