The Pennsylvania Senate Law & Justice Committee scheduled a hearing to discuss online gaming and video gambling terminals on Tuesday, September 19. That meeting should set the agenda on online poker, daily fantasy sports, and VGTs for the remainder of the year.
The Senate Law Committee has not released a list of speakers for the September hearing. If past hearings are a sign post, Geoff Freeman of the Poker Players Alliance will be called to testify. Pennsylvania lawmakers called the PPA president to a hearing in late-June.
Chuck McIlhinney Supports Legal VGTs
When the committee convenes, it should follow a pro-gambling agenda. The man who scheduled the hearing, Senate Law Committee Chairman Chuck McIlhinney, is a vocal supporter of the VGT legislation, because he wants “to focus significant energy on addressing and ending this scourge of illegal VGTs across the Commonwealth.”
Video gambling terminals were thought to a dead letter in Pennsyvlania’s omnibus gambling bill, but Sen. McIlhinney is one of several lawmakers who resurrected the debate in recent weeks. The turning point was the Senate Law Committee chairman’s talking points about illegal VGTs in the state.
Illegal VGTs Are Rampant
McIllhinney’s argument is illegal VGTs are rampant throughout the state. The issue not only spreads corruption and encourages small business owners down an illegal path, but it costs the state $300 million to $400 million in revenues each year.
If video gambling terminals were legalized, regulated, licensed, and taxed, it would undermine the illegal VGT industry in Pennsylvania. Instead of residents playing in unregulated, unprotected gaming enclaves, they would play under state consumer protections. Responsible gaming measures would be implemented, while the state could make up 15% to 20% of its budget shortfall.
Online Poll Supports VGT Legalization
Commonwealth Gaming held an online poll to see what potential Pennsylvania voters thought of the various budget proposals. When asked which tools should be used to make up the state’s budget deficit, video gambling terminals won the poll by a wide margin (50%).
Next came the Marcus shale severance tax (32%), satellite casinos (12%), and expanded liquor privitization (6%). Expanded taxes and borrowing against the cigarette settlement each received 0% of the vote.
The PEOPLE have Spoken!
#gaming #vgt #bar #slots #pa #Senate #PaSenate #money #profits #pittsburgh #philadelphia #harrisburg #pennsylvania pic.twitter.com/1t9btlmDWx— Commonwealth Gaming (@CommonwealthGPA) July 26, 2017
It is hardly a scientific poll, as online polling is skewed due to the types of visitors a site attracts. Commonwealth Gaming is much more likely to attract gambling enthusiasts than activists against the Marcus shell reservoir. Still, it is a sign that the issue has some resonance with Pennsyvlania voters.
State Police Raids of VGT Operations
The illegal VGT issue is a real one. Rep. Mike Sturla (D) has been vocal in calling out illegal VGT operators in the state. In a May 2017 hearing on the illegal gambling machines, the Lancaster County Democrat described the elaborate systems used by the video gambling parlors to get around state laws.
Sturla told a House Committee, “The only payouts go to patrons they know. [The bartender] may think I’m a gaming enforcement agent.”
Those comments came a week after the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement raided 48 businesses in 4 different Pennsylvania counties. In those April 2017 raids, the State Police confiscated $177,000 in illegal gambling funds.
BLCE Director Major Scott T. Miller said at the time of the raids, “The ongoing operations of illegal gambling devices and illegal video gaming terminals, while often viewed as a victimless crime, result in lost tax revenue for Pennsylvanians and victimize households of citizens whose family members have gambling addictions.”
When Will Pennsylvania Online Poker Be Approved?
The announcement of the hearing provides a time table for those wondering when the gambling bill might be passed. Hearings will be held in the later part of September, so no vote should take place until October.
September Pennsylvania Online Gambling Hearing
Poker players hoping for the right to play online poker in Pennsylvania should not expect an announcement until well into the Fall 2017. If a law is approved, then it will take months for a rollout. New Jersey’s online gambling rollout came 6 months after a bill was signed. Expect legal online poker and casinos sometime in the first half of 2018, if it happens at all.
Once again, the VGT legislation might derail the online gambling provisions altogether. While Pennsylvania lawmakers appear ready to legalize online poker, casinos, and daily fantasy sports, nothing is certain.
