Card Player – The Pennsylvania study on the condition of the gambling industry in the state, with particular emphasis on the potential impact of online gaming, is coming back earlier than expected.
Commissioned by the State Senate last December to be completed by the beginning of May, the study from the Senate Legislative Budget and Finance Committee is on the schedule to be presented Wednesday morning.
“We wanted to see what the overall health of the casino industry is in the state and whether or not there’s room for expansion without cannibalizing what’s currently in place,” said State Sen. Kim Ward, chair of the Community, Economic and Recreational Development Committee that first advanced the resolution ordering the study. “We needed to take another look at the state of gaming as a whole before we said we definitely have room for online gaming. I think it’s a very good idea, and we’re hoping to get some answers next week.”
If the study comes back predicting the positive impact of iGaming in the state, it would set in motion the serious consideration of the Pennsylvania legislature following its neighbors in New Jersey and Delaware by authorizing the licensing and regulation of full online gambling, including poker. However, a negative viewpoint of online gaming could stop the idea in its tracks.
“If the study comes back and says we can’t handle it, I guess it most likely won’t happen,” Ward said.
Pennsylvania Rep. Mario Scavello announced a proposal last month to criminalize online gambling for people in the state, but after having his Facebook inundated with posts from a Poker Players Alliance-led grassroots effort, he said he would push off introducing his legislation until seeing the results of the study.
