11/1/17
by News Department on 11/01/17Gambling changes...
Gov. Tom Wolf signed legislation, on Monday, authorizing a major expansion of gambling in PA.
Under the measure, the state will become the fourth state to allow offer online gambling and also makes Pennsylvania the first state to allow online play for both commercial casinos and the state lottery, as both go in search of newer and younger players.
The new law also will give rise to more casino sites. State regulators will hold an auction allowing 10 of the state's 12 existing casinos to bid on a license for a new, smaller casino with hundreds of slot machines.
Meanwhile, casinos will be able to offer interactive gambling in airports while qualifying truck stops can to operate up to five slot machine-style monitors called video gaming terminals.
Lawmakers expect the gambling legislation to produce about $200 million or more annually from casino license fees and taxes on higher gambling losses.
The gambling bill passed as part of a broader package designed to break a four-month budget stalemate between the Republican-controlled Legislature and the Democratic governor over how to overcome a projected $2.2 billion deficit.
