Gambling in Pennsylvania includes casino gambling, the Pennsylvania Lottery, horse racing, Bingo, and small games of chance conducted by nonprofit organizations and taverns under limited circumstances. Although casinos gaming has only been legal for about a decade, Pennsylvania is second only to Nevada in commercial casino revenues.
On October 26, 2017, the House passed a bill that will legalize online gambling. Governor Tom Wolf signed that bill into law on October 30, 2017.
Video Gambling in Pennsylvania
Casino and racino gambling
Since its creation in 2004 Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board oversees all casinos in the state. Horse Racing was the first type of gambling to be legalized in Pennsylvania, having been legal since the passing of the Race Horse Industry Reform Act in 1959. The first race track to open after the passage of that act was Meadows Racetrack in 1963.
In 2004, the Pennsylvania Race Horse Development and Gaming Act was passed which legalized slot machines at fourteen locations beginning in 2006. The act authorized licenses for seven horse track racing locations (or racinos), five standalone casinos, and two resort casinos. All casinos can have up to 5,000 machines, except the resort licensees, which can have up to 600. The Act also mandated that two of the five stand-alone casinos be located in Philadelphia, one in Pittsburgh, and the remaining two at-large.
Casinos in Pennsylvania have been permitted to operate table games since July 2010. Stand-alone and racinos may have up to 250 table games, while resort casinos are limited to a maximum of 50 table games. Table games legislation increased the number of slots that resort casinos may have, from 500 to 600 machines.
Pennsylvania casinos set a revenue record for 2017 as a whole, generating $3.227 billion in revenues.
Maps Gambling in Pennsylvania
Lottery
The Pennsylvania Lottery has been available throughout the Commonwealth since 1972. In addition to regular drawings, the state also participates in Powerball (offered through the Multi-State Lottery Association) and Mega Millions games and sells scratchcard tickets.
History of gambling expansion in Pennsylvania
The modern purpose of gambling legislation in Pennsylvania is focused on using revenues to help create more jobs, boost the economy, and stitch together the state's financial deficit.
The PA state lottery was established in Act 91 of 1971 as a government run entity. The purpose of the lottery, as stated in the bill, is to provide property tax relief to the elderly for property taxes paid in 1971 and thereafter to persons 65 years of age or older. The lottery is also intended to curb illegal gambling operations that were taking place in PA. The bill also outlines the procedures for selling tickets, commercial advertising, and distribution of prizes. The passing of this bill led to repeated pushes for casinos in the 1980s-1990s.The first major effort to establish casinos took place in the Pocono Mountains Resort Area. Several polls were taken in the region, and in all cases residents rejected the idea. This is primarily due to a general apprehension about gambling in the 1980s. Pennsylvanians looked to Nevada as an example of what casinos could do to a society, and saw nothing but corruption and criminals.
In 1993-1994 there was another push for gambling, this time on riverboats in state waterways. Although supporters of riverboats were determined that legalizing riverboat gambling would bring more money into Pennsylvania, fiscal experts and social scientists had said that the gambling industry could generate crime and actually cost the state money. Likewise, the opposers of gambling said legalization would have a corrosive effect on families, and would increase the number of business failures, crimes, and traffic congestion. Another reason riverboat gambling legislation failed to be passed in the mid-1990s is that the newly elected governor, Tom Ridge, demanded a series of voter referenda as a condition for his support of any legislation. This consequently drained any existing momentum for the passage of riverboat legislation.
One last failed push for gambling in Pennsylvania occurred in 1999. A gaming bill, that was approved by the State House, would have allowed for a voter referendum to decide whether the state should have slot machines at the four racetracks, authorize riverboats, and allow video poker at taverns. However the referendum proposal was not scheduled for a vote, and this effort acquired the same outcome as legislation in the previous years.
In 2004 Pennsylvania legislators passed Act 71, making progress in their push to legalize gambling. This act, also known as the Pennsylvania Racehorse Development and Gaming Act, established the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board and legalized casinos and racetracks within the state. It was apparent that horse racing was a viable industry that would create thousands of new jobs and bring more money into Pennsylvania. The revenues gained by the machines and tracks would primarily go towards providing property tax relief, various horse breeders in the state, local governments, as well as various funds that were established by Act 71. The moral, social, and religious grounds on which people had previously opposed gambling became less of a factor as new generations of Pennsylvanians became adults, which eventually led to a greater public acceptance of gambling. Another factor that contributed to this acceptance was that the historic link between gambling and crime had diminished as the ownership structure of casinos had shifted to publicly traded corporations. During the first full year of operations, seven casinos produced machine revenues of over one billion dollars, which yielded tax revenues of about seven hundred and sixty-six million dollars, and by the end of 2009, the revenues of Pennsylvania machines exceeded those of machines in other states with the exception of Nevada.
The success of Act 71 led to calls for more gambling legislation to be passed in Pennsylvania. The 2017 Truck stop and Satellite casino bill included in it a plan to establish 10 new mini-casino sites, as well as expand casino-style gambling to truck stops, online portals, and airports. In 2016 there were approximately 18,000 people employed by the various racetracks and casinos around the state, all of which generate approximately $1.4 billion annually in tax revenue.
Future expansion
On October 26, 2017, the state legislature approved a bill that would allow casino gambling at truck stops, airports, and online. The bill was signed by Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf on October 30, 2017. The bill also would authorize licenses for ten new satellite casinos with a requirement that they be located at least 25 miles from an existing casinos. The satellite casino licenses allowing up to 750 slot machines and 30 table games would only be granted to existing owners of casinos in Pennsylvania. Municipalities also have the option to prohibit casinos within their borders.
The passage of the October 30th gambling expansion bill made Pennsylvania the fourth state to legalize online gambling, joining Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware. Pennsylvania is the only state to offer both gaming and lottery tickets online. Finally, the law also permits casinos to offer sports betting pending a change in federal law or a possible Supreme Court ruling declaring the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 unconstitutional (the law is currently being challenged by the state of New Jersey).
Truck stops may operate up to five slot machines with counties having the option to prohibit gambling at truck stops. Casinos may make agreements to operate an interactive gambling parlor with an airport authority at any of Pennsylvania's international or regional airports. Pennsylvania became the only state other than Nevada to permit gaming at airports, although as of January 2018, no airport has announced plans to offer gaming.
List of casinos
Racinos
- Harrah's Philadelphia, Chester
- Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course, Grantville
- The Meadows Racetrack and Casino, North Strabane Twp.
- Mohegan Sun Pocono, Wilkes-Barre
- Parx Casino and Racing, Bensalem
- Presque Isle Downs & Casino, Erie
Standalone casinos
- Mount Airy Casino Resort, Mt. Pocono
- Rivers Casino, Pittsburgh
- Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem, Bethlehem
- SugarHouse Casino, Philadelphia
Resort casinos
- Lady Luck Casino Nemacolin, Farmington
- Valley Forge Casino Resort, King of Prussia
Off-track wagering
Racinos also operate betting facilities located off-site.
Mohegan Sun:
- The Downs at Carbondale, Carbondale
- The Downs at East Stroudsburg, East Stroudsburg
- The Downs at Hazleton, Hazleton
- The Downs at Lehigh Valley (largest OTB in Pennsylvania at 28,000 sq. ft.), Allentown
Philadelphia Park:
- Center City Turf Club, Philadelphia
- Northeast Turf Club, Philadelphia
- South Philadelphia Turf Club, Philadelphia
- Upper Darby Turf Club, Upper Darby
- Valley Forge Turf Club, Oaks
Penn National:
- Penn National Chambersburg, Chambersburg
- Penn National Lancaster, Lancaster
- Penn National Reading, Reading
- Penn National York, York
The Meadows:
- The Meadows Greensburg, Greensburg
- The Meadows Harmar Twp., Pittsburgh
- The Meadows New Castle, New Castle
- The Meadows Moon Twp., Coraopolis
- The Meadows West Mifflin, West Mifflin
Future casinos
- Live! Hotel and Casino Philadelphia, Philadelphia
Never opened
- Foxwoods Casino Philadelphia, Philadelphia
See also
- Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board
References
External links
- Guide to PA casinos
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments