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State of Play’s TL;DR
- Pennsylvania lawmakers are weighing a bill that would ban sweepstakes casinos while creating a regulatory and tax framework for skill game machines.
- Skill games regulation must be enacted by next week.
Pennsylvania lawmakers are considering a bill that would ban sweepstakes casinos while creating a regulatory framework for skill game machines and revising parts of the state’s broader gaming tax structure.
House Bill 2801, introduced by Rep. Russ Diamond, was referred to the House Gaming Oversight Committee on Sept. 24. As of the latest action listed by the General Assembly, the measure had not moved beyond committee and no hearing or vote had been scheduled.
What HB 2801 would change
According to the bill summary and Diamond’s co-sponsorship memo, HB 2801 would add language explicitly prohibiting sweepstakes games in Pennsylvania.
The proposal would also amend Titles 4 and 53 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes and touch multiple parts of the state’s gambling framework, including fantasy contests, slot machine licensing, table games, interactive gaming, sports wagering, and video gaming terminals.
Diamond said Pennsylvania gaming law “was originally written for a much different era” and that it is now “time to make some necessary and much-needed changes.”
The memo also outlines a structure that would allow up to five skill-game or video-gaming terminal machines at clubs, liquor-licensed restaurants and bars, and qualified truck stops. Those machines would face a proposed 20% tax on gross terminal revenue.
Beyond skill games, the bill would reduce the tax rate on casino slot machines and set a 49.9% tax rate for online casino games.
It would also restructure how gaming tax revenue is distributed among the Race Horse Development Trust Fund, the Compulsive and Problem Gambling Treatment Fund, the Property Tax Relief Fund, and the General Fund.
Supreme Court ruling adds urgency
The legislation comes after a June ruling from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that found unregulated skill game machines meet the state’s legal definition of slot machines.
That decision places the devices under the oversight of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board unless lawmakers act. Beginning Oct. 14, the machines would also be subject to criminal prosecution by state police and immediate seizure under the court ruling.
What to watch next
HB 2801 is described as the first half of a two-bill package. A companion measure, House Bill 2802, would create a direct annual property tax dividend payment for qualified homeowners funded by gaming revenue.
For now, the main open questions are whether HB 2801 will receive a committee hearing or vote, whether lawmakers will amend it, and how Pennsylvania regulators and operators respond ahead of the Oct. 14 enforcement date.
Based on reporting by Shannon Lane for Casino.org.
