Pennsylvania House approves online gambling, daily fantasy sports legislation

Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives has approved online gambling and daily fantasy sports legislation, setting up a nail-biter in the state Senate.

On Tuesday, Pennsylvania’s House voted 114-85 in favor of the HB 2150 legislation they initially rejected last week when it contained a controversial video gaming terminals (VGT) component, then gave initial approval to the same legislation with the VGT component stripped out.

The amended HB 2150 approved by the House on Tuesday would allow Pennsylvania’s dozen brick-and-mortar casino operators to partner with approved online gambling technology providers to offer online casino and poker games to state residents.

Casinos looking to go online will pay an $8m upfront fee for a five-year license, with renewals costing $250k. The online technology partners of these casinos will have to pay $2m upfront, with renewal fees of $100k in five years’ time.