PA iLottery posts sales of US$21.6 million in June
Online lottery sales in Pennsylvania reached US21.6 million after the segment made its debut on June 4th.
US.- Online lottery games made their debut in the US market on June 4th and posted sales of US$21.6 million for their first month operating. Despite facing tough opposition in the state, the segment had a strong performance and registered winnings of US$18.7 million from around 45,000 unique players.
The eleven iLottery games are not allowed to offer games that may simulate other segments (casinos, scratch cards, etc.) in order not to compete. However, casino operators say that they do, in fact, resemble casino-style slots, which is why they have been complaining about the newly stated segment.
According to casino operators, the iLottery games aren’t paying the 54 per cent tax that the state imposes on land-based slots. Therefore, they claim the online pseudo-slots prove to be unlawful competition and vow for “fiscal sanity” to return to the state legislature.
Furthermore, a violation to the Law regarding iLottery marketing material has been addressed, as Revenue Secretary C. Daniel Hassell said, since operators had been using phrases like “slot-style” and “casino-style”, which were forbidden.
Traditional companies have already announced they will take legal action should the state remain passive on apparent violations from iGaming operators. It’s still yet to be seen if they actually do or if they are just empty threats.
