Pennsylvania set for joint hearing over online gaming

Pennsylvania is planning to host a joint gambling reform hearing before both the House and Senate in an effort to push ahead with plans to introduce legalised online gaming in the US state. A hearing was due to take place this week before the House Gaming Oversight Committee, but was cancelled in favour of the joint meeting. According to sources close to the situation, cited by Onlinepokerreport.com, the joint meeting could take place as early as next week and allow both legislative bodies, which have been at odds over the subject, to discuss any remaining concerns they may have about gambling reform. Such is the optimism that legislation will pass that Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf included revenue in a yet-to-be-passed “gaming expansion proposal” in his 2017-18 budget. In the proposed budget, Wolf said that the expansion could generate as much as $100 million (€94.2 million) in the current fiscal year, with this expected to rise to $150 million in the cited budget year. Related article: Pennsylvania lawmaker expects legalised online gaming by March