Last updated October 16th, 2020
Not a week ago, the state of Pennsylvania passed a new law, allowing yet another major expansion of legal gambling. The Senate voted 31-19 in favor of the bill, after which it was approved by Gov. Tom Wolf.
At that point, the legislation went into immediate effect. This new law will now permit online games and legalize games at highway truck stops. Furthermore, the legislation will now also allow the establishment of new casinos in the state.
As a result, for the first time in 13 years, commercial gambling can now take place outside the twelve licensed racetracks and casinos that were the only ones permitted so until now. Last but not least, this law will also allow the 10 largest casinos in the state to potentially establish satellite casinos. So, it’s a major change for Pennsylvania and it has already benefited the state.
The idea behind the new gambling legislation was to drive more profit to Pennsylvania. In doing so, the aim would be to patch a budget gap of a whopping $2.3 billion. It is already working. In fact, the first $1 million dollar check has officially been cashed. The money came from the fee that Valley Forge Casino Resort paid. This fee was to permit gambling by patrons at King of Prussia, even if they are not taking part in the other facilities. This was not the case before, when only membership holders and guests had permission to be in the casino.
These are exciting times for the casino industry in general, as well as this particular casino. This new legislation will also allow it to add more poker tables, up to 15. Furthermore, it can now also benefit from as many as up to 250 slot machines.
As per their website, the Valley Forge Casino will also apply for online gaming and sports betting licenses. At this time they are not yet available, but will be soon. According to the casino’s CEO, these new changes have come as a huge relief both for the casino itself, as well as for its guests. Before, the restrictions made things confusing and inconvenient for guests of the casino. They needed to answer to certain requirements in order to even enter it, let alone gamble. Now that those regulations are gone, though, the facility has just become more appealing to visitors and it can also attract new guests. What’s more, it can also better “serve existing guests”, as Eric Pearson, President and CEO of Valley Forge Casino Resort said himself.
Besides Pennsylvania, there are only three other states that have legalized mobile and online casino gambling. They are New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware. Of the four, Pennsylvania is only second after Nevada in tax revenue from gambling. But with these changes in legislation, that might be about to change very soon.