Pennsylvania in the dock over lottery egaming platform
Coalition claims state egaming offering violates Pennsylvania gaming laws
A coalition of the 13 Pennsylvania casinos have filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction to prevent the Pennsylvania lottery from providing egaming services.
The coalition, including Parx Casino, Harrahs, Valley Forge, Stadium and Mohegan Sun casinos wants to stop the PA lottery from providing “illegal” casino-style online games.
Under current state law, no individual under the age of 21 can enter a casino, however, Pennsylvania lottery online games are currently accessible to individuals aged 18 or over.
In addition to this, the games being offered by the PA lottery allegedly resemble online slots, which are only available to casinos operating in the state after they pay a $10m license application fee.
Under the so-called Act 42, which was passed into law by the state last year, the state can offer instant-win online games including Powerball and Mega Millions. It also allows the state to offer virtual sports, Keno and electronic draw games.
However, it does not allow the PA lottery to offer “games that represent physical, Internet-based or monitor-based interactive lottery games which simulate casino-style lottery games, specifically including poker, Roulette, slot machines and Blackjack.”
Earlier this year, the group sent a letter to Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolff asking for the Pennsylvania online lottery to be shut down, claiming they would otherwise “be forced to consider all actions available to us to preserve our rights.”
The lawsuit names both the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue and the states Secretary of the Department of Revenue C. Daniel Hassel among the plaintiffs.
Coalition spokesman, David La Torre said “The Pennsylvania Lottery’s new games combines elements of online casino games, sports betting and slot machines — areas that are legislatively restricted to the commonwealth’s casino operators. We will continue to oppose their illegal attempts to cannibalize the state’s casino industry.”
The casino coalition is seeking an injunction against the Commonwealth preventing these games from being offered, financial relief for “irreparable injury,” and a declaration that the Department of Revenue is acting in violation of the law.
La Torre added: “The actions of the Pennsylvania Lottery are illegal. To make matters even worse, the agency is promoting casino-style gambling to teenagers. Pennsylvania casinos must follow very stringent regulations on underage gaming or face millions of dollars in fines.”
“Meanwhile, the Lottery is openly violating the law and marketing these games to anyone as young as 18. Not to mention, any loss in casino revenue will hurt Pennsylvania’s tax collection for property tax relief and local improvement projects funded by gaming tax dollars.”