Having blown past their soft deadline of July 1, Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled state legislature is still trying to iron out a budget agreement with newly-elected Democratic Governor Tom Wolf. And so far, that has not included talk of online gambling expansion.
Wolf is intent on raising revenue by overhauling the state’s income tax code and creating new taxes on, among other things, natural gas production.
On the other hand, the legislature would like to raise the necessary revenue without raising taxes. Republicans are of the opinion this can be accomplished by reforming existing revenue channels. One of the proposals put forth by the legislature was comprehensive gaming reforms, including the legalization and regulation of online gaming in the Keystone State.
According to the latest reports on the budget talks, all of the gaming reforms with the exception of online gambling expansion have been scrapped. But it’s starting to look like internet gambling expansion is destined for the scrap heap as well.
Online gambling isn’t dead in Pennsylvania by any stretch of the imagination, but the chances Pennsylvania will pass an iGaming bill in 2015 seem far more tenuous than it has in months.
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