Two days into the short session for the Senate in Pennsylvania, and the news for online gambling, poker and daily fantasy sports ranges from nearly non-existent to not good.
Hearing Cancelled
The only movement surrounding online gambling was hearing that was cancelled.
The House Gaming Oversight Committee planned to hold a hearing on the subject of online gambling and daily fantasy sports. That group was supposed to examine what other states had done when it came to those two subjects.
However, that meeting was scrapped. That, in and of itself, isn’t terribly noteworthy, as committee meetings are scheduled and cancelled all the time in the Pennsylvania statehouse.
This one, however, was viewed as important, even though the House had already passed a bill that would legalize and authorize iGaming and DFS. It appeared as if the House scheduled the hearing to push the Senate to act on a planned gambling expansion that was included in the state budget.
The reason why the hearing was cancelled, remains a mystery. No matter the reason, the House is not getting a chance to shine a light on the benefits for jurisdictions that have legalized and regulated forms of online gaming.
DFS Bill Making Progress
Meanwhile, a Senate Bill dealing with only DFS was reported out of the Appropriations Committee.
Right now, the sense in PA is still that DFS and online gambling will be handled in tandem if and when the Senate gets down to the nitty-gritty. However, right now, its DFS, and not a larger gambling expansion, that is active.
The House, given the Senate’s reluctance to move forward on its gambling bill and iGaming, might not be thrilled to take up a DFS-only bill that would create little in the way of revenue.
The Future of PA’s Online Gambling
After today, there are just seven days left in the Senate’s session before the November elections.
If nothing happens before then, the issue would be left out until 2017. The question would remain of where $100 million for the state budget would come from; it is supposed to be generated by new gambling measures.
Time hasn’t run out, yet, and there’s always a possibility that negotiations are going on behind the scene, and that action could be taken.
But for now, what the Senate wants to do and when, remains a mystery.
