After an introduction of a tax increasing plan in order to increase Pennsylvania annual revenue, John Payne prepared and introduced bill HB 649, which will regulate online gambling in the state as well as allow to expand land based scope of operation.
The bill was introduced as an alternative for the tax increasing plan and despite the amount of many initial debates and cons, the bill may now finally get its chance to be signed by the governor. After being passed in the Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives it now only needs to pass a hearing in the Senate.
John Payne and the followers of the online gambling bill, HB 649, have not probably thought that the ill will face the chance of being passed without even a signature.
Pennsylvania Governor and Democrat Tom Wolf has said that he would allow the state budget to pass without his signature, but only if the Senate do not explain how the funding from the budget would happen. Such solution would the online gambling bill to be passed and online gambling become legal in the State. Such solution is possible because HB 649 is currently part of the spending bill which is being debated in the Pennsylvania Legislature at the moment. There is however a problem which such solution. Lawmakers believe that signing a the state’s annual spending bill ahead of the deadline on Monday 11th July is non constitutional.
Wolf said that he would let the spending bill become law without signing it, only when Legislature, which is controlled by Republicans, does not prepare an acceptable revenue to fund it.
The situation however, is unlikely. The bill would definitely need the approval of the senate, and there has not been an online gambling bill that would made it to the governor’s desk. Yet, the bill could pass in the numbers needed to bring the $1.3 billion shortage in state funding for social programs. Whether or not the bill is passed will be decided this week, which according to many gambling supporters will be crucial for the online gambling in Pennsylvania.
