Pennsylvania waits for senate on internet gambling vote

Online gambling supporters in Pennsylvania will be anxiously waiting for September 26 to come around as that is the date the Senate returns and could possible vote to legalise online gambling in the state.

However the session only lasts for nine days and some observers worry that it is not long enough to get a vote done, especially as the bill HB 2150 has some controversial elements in it such as VGTs at airports along with horse racing betting allowed off the track. But if they are removed quickly the Senate could well pass the bill and send it over to Governor Tom Wolf to sign, which he is almost certain to do as he has indicated already.

There are of course other elements that could stop the bill including obstruction methods by anti-gambling supporters such as Sheldon Adelson’s Sands company pressurising the Senate to delay the bill.

The consensus is that the chances are 50/50 at this point that the bill will pass the vote, the main pointer will be the first couple of days when the Senate reconvene and the order of business is decided on, if bill HB 2150 gets a mention then it is looking good for all supporters of internet gambling, if not there will be a lot of nervous looking people counting down the days.