A new bill aimed at legalising a range of online gaming services in the US state of Pennsylvania has been introduced in the state senate.
Sponsored primarily by Senator Edwin Erickson, the latest bill has been altered from previous versions to potentially allow for wider regulation of internet gaming.
According to the USpoker.com website, the previous edition said that the board “only may approve poker games pursuant to this chapter”.
However, this line has now been removed and the new bill states “any interactive game approved by the board pursuant to this chapter”, which could potentially mean the legalisation of other casino games in addition to poker.
The bill would introduce a tax rate of 14%, while promotions could be deducted and funds seized from fraudulent players would be counted as taxable income.
The licence fee for operators has been set at $5 million (€3.7 million) while affiliates would also require licensing in Pennsylvania.
Although the bill states that unlicensed operators would also be required to pay taxes, this would not make them immune from prosecution for offering illegal gambling, only for tax evasion.
The first conviction of illegal internet gambling is a degree misdemeanour while subsequent violations are second degree felonies, with the minimum fine being set at $75,000.
The new bill would also allow for interstate concepts with other regulated states or territories in the US, but specifically mentioned this would not be extended for international possibilities.
In addition, a ‘bad actor’ clause forbids “any trademark, trade name, service mark or similar intellectual property that is used to identify any aspect of the Internet website or the operator offering the wagers or interactive games to its customers” from those companies that accepted Pennsylvania players after December 31, 2006.
Player databases, software or any hardware used in violation of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act will be excluded.
Other terms featured in the bill include the requirement that all deposits be segregated from operating funds, players must be over the age of 21, internet cafes are banned unless offered by a site operator, so-called ‘bot’ play is forbidden and gaming sites are required to prominently display problem gambling information.
source : www.igamingbusiness.com
