Online gambling could boost Pennsylvania’s revenue

A new report revealed that the legalisation of the online gambling industry in the state could boost its tax revenues.

US.- A new report from Play Pennsylvania and Online Poker Report revealed that a legal online gambling market in Pennsylvania could help boost the local tax revenues by more than US$400 million by 2022. Pennsylvania could also collect US$126 million from licensing fees from casinos operating online gambling sites.

Another US$46 million could be added in 2018 with a 20 percent tax rate, and it is expextec that by 2022 could grow to US$72.8 million. Therefore, in six years Pennsylvania could collect US$426 million in tax revenue. The report uses New Jersey as an example. Currently, the online gaming industry has been regulated only in New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware, but several states, such as New York and Hawaii are debating upcoming projects in order to regulate the iGaming sector, including online sports betting.

Online poker and casino revenue in the state could also collect US$230 million in the first year of operations, and grow to US$364 million by 2022. Robert DellaFave, author of the report, said:   “Of any state that has already legalised some form of online gambling or is actively exploring the idea, Pennsylvania represents the biggest economic upside. Other contenders, namely New York and California, may own a larger population, but are only considering online poker legislation. Massachusetts, Michigan and New Jersey either offer, or plan to offer, both online poker and casino games, but their populations are a tier lower than Pennsylvania’s.”

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf said that lawmakers are still working towards the legalisation of the online gaming industry in the state. Earlier this month, Wolf announced that he included a US$250 million expansion in his budget proposal for next fiscal year. The Democratic governor presented his ideas to the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Whilst Pennsylvania is currently facing a US$3 billion budget deficit, this year the proposal could face an optimistic future since Wolf announced that his budget includes US$100 million produced by the gaming expansion, along with an extra US$150 million fund collected in those twelve months.