Pennsylvania has been trying to close its 2017-18 budget for quite some time now, but without much success. State lawmakers are in a desperate search for additional revenue sources to fill a massive budget hole and gambling expansion has been considered one of the possible solutions to the problem.
A bill proposing a sweeping gambling reform has been swinging from the state House to the Senate and the other way around for months now, but it seems that members of the two legislative houses are anywhere close to passing it into law.
The bill contains provisions for the legalization of online gaming and daily fantasy sports. And while those provisions have proved to be a bit controversial, they have not been what has stalled the bill’s progress.
House and Senate legislators are currently split on whether video gaming terminals (VGTs) should be legalized. The House has proposed the addition of tens of thousands of such devices at pubs, truck stops, and other facilities around the state. According to House lawmakers, the move will create up to $400 million in additional revenue for the state.
The Senate, on the other hand, has remained firm on its stance against the legalization of the gaming machines. The Legislature’s upper house has cited addiction and crime concerns as the reason for its negativity towards VGTs.
As mentioned above the legalization of the devices has been proposed as part of the larger gambling expansion package. However, the lack of accord on the matter could result in the failure of the whole expansion plan.
Last week, Pennsylvania Sen. Chuck McIlhinney announced that the Senate will be holding series of hearings on the potential legalization of VGTs, starting September 19. Responding to a recent opinion piece by House Rep. Mark Mustio for Delco Times, the Senator said that the Senate should be thankful to the House and its members for informing their colleagues about the fact that VGTs were already present in Pennsylvania, and in an illegal manner.
According to Sen. McIlhinney, the state should first show its residents that it is able to handle the illegal operation of the machines before considering their legalization and regulation.
Opponents of the controversial devices have also pointed to the fact that instead of generating new additional revenue they would actually cannibalize revenue from the state’s land-based casinos. Being located at easily accessed locations, VGTs could avert the attention of casino patrons away from casino floors.
Although Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has remained remotely taciturn on the gambling expansion matter, he has said that he would only support efforts that would secure new revenue for the state. In this case, the argument about VGTs stealing revenue from existing gaming operations could also influence the top official’s opinion on the legalization of the machines in a negative manner.
