A key Pennsylvania lawmaker is optimistic on online gambling coming to the Keystone State in the next few months.

Pennsylvania state Sen. Mario Scavello — the newly appointed chairman of the Community, Economic and Recreational Development Committee — made some news on Friday when he told Mark Gueretze of CDC Gaming Reports: “It looks like online gaming has the support to pass.”

Scavello, went on to tell CDC a meeting is scheduled for January 17 in which legislators will hammer out the specifics of a bill. Then:

“Sometime in March, we’ll have something done and passed in the House and Senate,” Scavello said.

It’s the latest evidence that lawmakers intend to move forward on a host of gambling issues, iGaming included.

One of the proposals under consideration comes from Senate minority leader Jay Costa. Costa laid out his vision for a comprehensive gaming reform bill last week in a memorandum. That included what many felt an excessive base tax rate (25 percent) imposed on online gambling operators.

Senate Republicans are also expected to introduce their own proposal. It’s unclear if that proposal will be closer to the bill passed by the House last session (which had a base tax rate of 14 percent). They could decide to pump up the tax rate even higher, as some have called for a tax rate as high as 54 percent.

More at PA Online Gambling News