It is hard to say whether will see any advancement in Pennsylvania’s chances of legalized and regulated online gambling in the coming days or weeks. In fact, at worst, we will need to wait until the fall months to understand whether the state will include revenue from igaming as a way to fund the 2017-2018 budget.
Last week, the Pennsylvania legislature adjourned without finalizing the gambling package that has been proposed, despite the fact that efforts were made after the Independence Day holidays.
What we do know is the following:
- On June 30th, Pennsylvania’s legislature passed the part of the budget that deals with the spending portion.
- Since Governor Tom Wolf did not veto the bill within a specified 10 day period, Pennsylvania’s law automatically approved the spending portion of the budget.
- Since the end of June, lawmakers from the House and Senate have been doing their utmost to reach a consensus regarding the funding bill.
- One of the main issues on which the House and Senate cannot agree is that of video gaming terminals (VGT’s). The House is insisting that these gaming machines be included in the funding bill, but the Senate is unable to whip up enough support for this to happen.
- Pennsylvania’s legislature has now gone into recess and an official return date hasn’t yet been established. However, both the House and the Senate are on standby status, which means that a session can be called at any time and lawmakers need to appear within six hours of this happening.
It is now a battle of wills between the House and Senate regarding the gambling package. Since the issue of VGTs seems to be the bone of contention, the matter could drag on for weeks or even months. However, it is clear that both sides want to reach some kind of solution – sooner rather than later.
“It’s got to get done — it will get done,” noted House Majority Leader, Dave Reed. “You know, sometimes a couple of hours away for everybody is a good thing. We can regroup and put it back together. I don’t think anybody wants to do this all year.”
A spokesperson for the Senate Republican said that, as negotiations continue, there is sincere hope that the two sides will return to session very soon to finalize the components of the budget.
