Online Poker Bill For Pennsylvania
Sunday June 1,2014 : PENNSYLVANIA SENATOR PLANS AN ONLINE POKER LEGALISATION BILL
Something for the politicians to talk about on June 3.
With the next hearing on internet gambling legalization in Pennsylvania scheduled for June 3 and already attracting media attention the news emerged last Friday that a new Senate bill will soon be introduced seeking to regulate and license intrastate online poker.
Pennsylvania Senator Edwin Erickson is the man behind the new bill SB1386, which he expects to launch within the next few weeks, possibly as a foot-in-the-door for subsequent more general online gambling legalization initiatives.
The draft of SB1386 suggests that licensing will be confined to existing land casino operators in the state, who will be commercially protected by the exclusion of "bad actors" (read Pokerstars) who accepted US action following the passage of the UIGEA in 2006.
The proposal allows for licensing fees of $5 million and a tax rate of 15 percent on gross revenue.
The usually reliable online gambling analyst Chris Krafchik claimed in a tweet last week that the Erickson bill is backed by land gambling giant Caesars Entertainment, although this has not been officially confirmed.
