Philadelphia, PA
- When you think about the gambling scene in the United States, Pennsylvania might not have traditionally been the first state that comes to mind. Nevada has become a global capital for gaming, and Oklahoma is home to one of the world's biggest casinos, but Pennsylvania has found its place at the top of the pile when it comes to its approach to online betting.
Known as a state that offers everything from historic sights to cities bursting with culture, Pennsylvania has also earned a reputation for forward-thinking legislative decisions regarding online gambling. Although there are federal rules that allow gambling and some that govern its taxation, each state is allowed to regulate its own gambling industry, which has allowed for a variety of approaches.
Many states have changed and reformed their laws multiple times to suit changing moral attitudes and accommodate their citizens' views and preferences. Some have outlawed gambling altogether, whereas others have strict controls that allow for state-run lotteries and very little else.
Pennsylvania's gambling laws
Plenty of states have managed for decades without drastically changing their laws. Still, the increasing availability of online gambling has prompted many states to review their legislation. Some opted to adapt it to accommodate online options, while others completely overhauled their approach to make responding to the ever-changing online landscape easier.
Pennsylvania opted for a dramatic overhaul of its gambling regulations to make a positive change that would create a safer gaming environment and generate significant income for the state. In 2017, they added a gambling expansion bill to their existing laws, legalizing online gambling and becoming only the fourth state to do so at the time.
The move was controversial and had some detractors, while many believed it was an unnecessary concession to an industry that wasn't without its potential pitfalls. However, the changes went ahead, and lawmakers recognized the need for some system that would allow them to capitalize on the latest innovations and popularity of gaming in the state.
The gambling industry thrives on robust legislation and supportive cooperation between the state and operators, which the Pennsylvania lawmakers hoped to achieve. By establishing the boundaries for safe and fair play, they delivered a legislative environment that allowed the fledgling online gaming industry to flourish.
The benefits
As the government at the time was hoping, the overall effects of the legal changes have been positive in a variety of ways:
Safe and secure gaming for players - this was one of the key tenets of the legislation, and lawmakers were keen to ensure that the benefits would be felt by players first and foremost. Online gaming is a huge industry that, allowed to grow unregulated, could quickly get out of hand.
By introducing a strong legal framework within which online gaming could grow legitimately, the hope was that sites that offered unfair games or those that failed to handle their players' data appropriately would simply go broke. With an array of legitimate options, and plenty of incentives to use them such as the promotional codes offered by Bet365, there would be no market for any non-conforming alternatives.
Legalizing gambling in Pennsylvania boosts the economy. In 2023/24, the state generated more than $2.5 billion in tax revenue. The state has used that money to benefit its citizens by supporting the agricultural industry through horseracing, lowering property taxes for homeowners, establishing grants to help improve the fortunes of various communities, releasing funds to projects concerned with economic development, and directly supporting many different charities.
Increased tourism—Once legalized gambling was established, tourists began to opt for Pennsylvania as a destination more frequently, putting it alongside Nevada and New Jersey for its appeal among travelers wanting to gamble.
Innovation and technology—Gaming has always been at the forefront of technological advances, and the use of augmented and virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and other immersive technologies has been hugely beneficial to a range of businesses, not just those in the gaming industry. There has also been a range of improvements made in online security, data handling, and fraud prevention that have been adopted and refined by gaming studios to meet customer expectations but have had wide-reaching benefits across some sectors.
Any significant legal changes are ripe for debate, and the legalization of online gaming has been the subject of several spirited arguments on both sides. However, the figures support the idea that innovation is a potentially lucrative choice, and the legislation has delivered on many of the promises made when it was first introduced.