A group of casinos in the Keystone State have recently filed a request with one of the state’s courts asking to have the Pennsylvania Lottery’s iLottery games either stopped completely or significantly limited before the online gambling industry goes live on July 15. The injunction that has been requested by the casinos seeks to ensure that the Lottery stops offering games that are reminiscent of the poker slots, and casino games which were granted an exclusive franchise for thanks to the state’s gambling expansion laws that were passed in October 2017.
The Pennsylvania Lottery was also given the green light to offer online games by the 2017 law – a move that was meant to allow the lottery to be just as competitive as other gambling options in the state. This is mostly because the lottery is very important to the state as it funds senior citizen benefits and programs.
According to the state’s licensed commercial casino operators, the 2017 gaming expansion laws contained clauses with language that stated that the iLottery games are meant to be different from poker, slots as well as other casino-style games – the casinos have already parted with millions of dollars for exclusive right to offer these games within the state’s borders.
“Pennsylvania casinos are not opposed to iLottery — only simulated, casino-style games. In fact, casinos are supportive of the lottery’s mission and provide space for lottery ticket vending machines on their casino floors. Some have become the best-selling outlets of lottery tickets in Pennsylvania,” said David La Torre, a spokesman for the casinos in the case.
This recent injunction is a bid to accelerate action on a suite that some of the casino operators filed last year. Hopefully, everything will have been ironed out by the time July 15 rolls around and online gambling goes live.
PGCB Implemented New Self-Exclusion Tool
As the launch of the online gaming industry draws nearer, the PGCB has also been implementing more measures to ensure that it will be safe for the online gamblers. Online sports betting already kicked off with SugarHouse Casino being the first to pass the test and get the green light for full-time operation. To protect players in this new online gambling regime, the gaming control board has recently implemented a brand-new self-exclusion list for online gamblers.
Now, all the Commonwealth online gambling sites will be required to decline wagers and deny gaming privileges to every individual who will be on the iGaming Self-Exclusion list. These individuals will also be exempted from all player club membership, complimentary goods, and services as well as any other related privilege. Furthermore, the online casino operators will not be allowed to send solicitations, targeted mailings, telemarketing promotions or any other kind of online gambling-related promotional material.
