Sports wagering not legal yet but Pa. lawmakers want to be ready when it is
By Jan Murphy
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on May 02, 2016
State lawmakers pushing gambling expansion see NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's recent softening of his stance on sports betting as a recognition that momentum is gaining on legalizing this activity.
If they are right, some House members say they want to be ready to take full advantage of this revenue raiser quickly.
"We all believe sports betting is a viable option," said Rep. John Payne, R-Derry Twp., who chairs the House Gaming Oversight Committee. "It's something that will come to fruition in the next year and I'm just making sure that when it does happen, we're ready to implement it as soon as possible."
Up until last week, the NFL has been steadfast in its opposition to legalized sports betting while NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred have been open-minded about it.
But during an interview on ESPN Radio last week in a conversation about moving the Los Angeles Raiders to Las Vegas, Goodell said, "All of us have evolved a little bit on gambling. To me, where I cross the line is anything that can impact on the integrity of the game. If people think it is something that can influence the outcome of a game, we are absolutely opposed to that."
Getting the support of the nation's most lucrative professional sports association is considered a linchpin to legalizing sports betting in states where it is currently not allowed. Nevada, Oregon, Montana and Delaware are the exceptions.
Casino operators are working on Congress to repeal the law but there is also activity happening on a different front that could trump the need for Congress to act. New Jersey passed a law in 2014 which partially repealed its own sports betting ban to allow wagering at the state's casinos and horse racetracks.
The four major sports associations challenged the law for a variety of reasons, leading to a federal court battle that some anticipate could be decided before the year is out or soon after.
Referring to the NFL commissioner's evolving position on the subject, Rep. Nick Kotik, D-Allegheny, the ranking Democrat on the House Gaming Oversight Committee, said. "They're coming around. Just like when they got involved with all the fantasy sports [DraftKings and FanDuel]. There's an opportunity to legalize something that is going on . . . that generates multiple billions of dollars illegally. Why can't the commonwealth take advantage of it?"
Kotik raised the issue of sports betting during the gaming committee's public hearing on updates to the state's gaming law on Monday held at Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course.
He said legalizing sports betting in Pennsylvania is his main focus of all the gambling expansion ideas being considered.
"I would like to engage the casino industry in a conversation about enacting a comprehensive bill so if and when the time comes that this is overturned by the Supreme Court that we're ready and can move forward," Kotik said to a panel of three Penn National executives.
John Finamore, senior vice president for Penn National Gaming Inc.'s regional operations, responded, "We agree with that and we'd be very happy to participate with you."
The American Gaming Association estimates Americans will spend nearly $140 billion this year on betting illegally on sports, Finamore said.
"The status quo is clearly unsustainable," he said. "The federal law, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, fails to protect consumers while the unregulated and illegal sports betting market funds criminal activities and threatens the integrity of the sports we enjoy."
While governments and casinos see legalized sports wagering as a moneymaker, opponents including Dianne Berlin, a longtime anti-gambling activist from Lancaster County, argues that this new revenue comes with negative consequences including an increase in gambling addictions among other societal concerns.
Other parts of the state's gaming act that generated some discussion at the hearing include:
Smoking ban: Penn National representatives oppose a complete ban. They pointed out they have installed state-of-the-art air filtration system at Hollywood Casino and believes the separate dedicated smoking section of the casino floor allows them to serve their smoking and non-smoking customers' desires. Besides that, they said it could prove costly
They pointed out that when Illinois went smoke-free in its casinos, Penn National's three riverboat casinos it operates there lost 15 to 25 percent of their revenue. They also pointed out when Delaware imposed a smoking ban at its casinos, the state, after seeing a 25 percent reduction in revenue, had to allow casinos to expand their hours of operation and increase the number of machines to build their revenue back up.
Taxing promotional play at casinos: Penn National's Finamore opposes this idea that Gov. Tom Wolf proposed as one of several revenue-raisers in his 2016-17 state budget. He called it "folly to tax them and take away a very important marketing took for the casinos in the commonwealth."
"Promotional credits are a significant competitive marketing tool for us here in Pennsylvania," he said. "In West Virginia and neighboring states and Ohio, they are tax free so to even consider the notion of taxing them and enacting that legislation would be a real disaster for the industry here."
By Jan Murphy
Email the author
on May 02, 2016
State lawmakers pushing gambling expansion see NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's recent softening of his stance on sports betting as a recognition that momentum is gaining on legalizing this activity.
If they are right, some House members say they want to be ready to take full advantage of this revenue raiser quickly.
"We all believe sports betting is a viable option," said Rep. John Payne, R-Derry Twp., who chairs the House Gaming Oversight Committee. "It's something that will come to fruition in the next year and I'm just making sure that when it does happen, we're ready to implement it as soon as possible."
Up until last week, the NFL has been steadfast in its opposition to legalized sports betting while NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred have been open-minded about it.
But during an interview on ESPN Radio last week in a conversation about moving the Los Angeles Raiders to Las Vegas, Goodell said, "All of us have evolved a little bit on gambling. To me, where I cross the line is anything that can impact on the integrity of the game. If people think it is something that can influence the outcome of a game, we are absolutely opposed to that."
Getting the support of the nation's most lucrative professional sports association is considered a linchpin to legalizing sports betting in states where it is currently not allowed. Nevada, Oregon, Montana and Delaware are the exceptions.
Casino operators are working on Congress to repeal the law but there is also activity happening on a different front that could trump the need for Congress to act. New Jersey passed a law in 2014 which partially repealed its own sports betting ban to allow wagering at the state's casinos and horse racetracks.
The four major sports associations challenged the law for a variety of reasons, leading to a federal court battle that some anticipate could be decided before the year is out or soon after.
Referring to the NFL commissioner's evolving position on the subject, Rep. Nick Kotik, D-Allegheny, the ranking Democrat on the House Gaming Oversight Committee, said. "They're coming around. Just like when they got involved with all the fantasy sports [DraftKings and FanDuel]. There's an opportunity to legalize something that is going on . . . that generates multiple billions of dollars illegally. Why can't the commonwealth take advantage of it?"
Kotik raised the issue of sports betting during the gaming committee's public hearing on updates to the state's gaming law on Monday held at Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course.
He said legalizing sports betting in Pennsylvania is his main focus of all the gambling expansion ideas being considered.
"I would like to engage the casino industry in a conversation about enacting a comprehensive bill so if and when the time comes that this is overturned by the Supreme Court that we're ready and can move forward," Kotik said to a panel of three Penn National executives.
John Finamore, senior vice president for Penn National Gaming Inc.'s regional operations, responded, "We agree with that and we'd be very happy to participate with you."
The American Gaming Association estimates Americans will spend nearly $140 billion this year on betting illegally on sports, Finamore said.
"The status quo is clearly unsustainable," he said. "The federal law, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, fails to protect consumers while the unregulated and illegal sports betting market funds criminal activities and threatens the integrity of the sports we enjoy."
While governments and casinos see legalized sports wagering as a moneymaker, opponents including Dianne Berlin, a longtime anti-gambling activist from Lancaster County, argues that this new revenue comes with negative consequences including an increase in gambling addictions among other societal concerns.
Other parts of the state's gaming act that generated some discussion at the hearing include:
Smoking ban: Penn National representatives oppose a complete ban. They pointed out they have installed state-of-the-art air filtration system at Hollywood Casino and believes the separate dedicated smoking section of the casino floor allows them to serve their smoking and non-smoking customers' desires. Besides that, they said it could prove costly
They pointed out that when Illinois went smoke-free in its casinos, Penn National's three riverboat casinos it operates there lost 15 to 25 percent of their revenue. They also pointed out when Delaware imposed a smoking ban at its casinos, the state, after seeing a 25 percent reduction in revenue, had to allow casinos to expand their hours of operation and increase the number of machines to build their revenue back up.
Taxing promotional play at casinos: Penn National's Finamore opposes this idea that Gov. Tom Wolf proposed as one of several revenue-raisers in his 2016-17 state budget. He called it "folly to tax them and take away a very important marketing took for the casinos in the commonwealth."
"Promotional credits are a significant competitive marketing tool for us here in Pennsylvania," he said. "In West Virginia and neighboring states and Ohio, they are tax free so to even consider the notion of taxing them and enacting that legislation would be a real disaster for the industry here."
