Pennsylvania On Verge Of Legal Online Gaming And Slots

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Pennsylvania is considering legalizing online gambling, as 11 of the 12 large casinos in the State are on board with that idea. There is, however, a concern about how it will affect other services, such as allowing some casinos to have slot machines at ancillary locations, the other concern, taxes.

The main reason any state is considering the legalization of online gaming is the fact that they could gain additional taxes from these practices. New Jersey, Delaware, and Nevada are the only states so far that have legal online gaming, but hopefully it does not remain that way. One of the proposals from the 11 casinos is that they get taxed equally or less than that of New Jersey; which is taxed at 15%.

This seems like the logical solution, seeing as how there are many other costs involved in running online casinos and games. Senator Robert Tomlinson has his concerns on whether or not the tax should be that low, considering that the current tax rate for slot machines is 55%; which gives the State $1 billion each year.

One of his main concerns is that casinos or operators can take advantage of this legislation, where they could simply provide patrons with cellphones and have them play directly from there. This would eliminate the need for a physical casino, and charge the casino much less in taxes.

Either way, Tomilson was on the forefront of legalizing slot machines at horse racetracks and stand-alone casinos in 2004, so he isn’t anti-gambling, he just wants to protect the State. Hopefully more Senators get on board with legalizing online gaming all around the United States.