Pennsylvania Legalizes DFS, Online Poker, & Online Casino, Sports Betting

After a relatively brief period of two hours to debate its merits (following years of previous debate on the topic), the Pennsylvania House and Senate passed a bill that will effectively make it the fourth state in the union with legalized online gambling. Complete coverage of this story can be found at our sister site Legal Sports Report.

The bill, H 271, passed by a vote of 109-72, and will permit the playing of online poker, sports betting (with PASPA repeal) and daily fantasy sports, becoming the 16th state this year to clarify its stance on DFS with new laws.

This marks another key victory for the DFS industry after New York state overturned the cease-and-desist order implemented by Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, legalizing and regulating daily fantasy sports within the home state of industry titans such as FanDuel.

By regulating and establishing a framework within which DFS sites can operate, these bills make it possible for fans to compete against each other and maintain their bankroll with a sense of justified security that these sites will not suddenly be shut down in their state.

While Pennsylvania legalized sports betting as a part of this bill, the state must still wait on federal legislation. Currently, the federal government prohibits all single-game sports betting in states outside of Nevada, but that law could change as soon as this December, when the New Jersey Sports Betting case is scheduled to be heard by Congress.

Washington, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina and Rhode Island are states still going through the process of attempting to legalize and regulate daily fantasy sports.

Despite the efforts of lobbyists, DFS remains without formal legislation in Oregon, California, Texas, Florida and several other states, but perhaps the standard set by Pennsylvania will go a long way as to helping the efforts of those lobbyists that want to see the industry regulated, not banned.