Senate Approves Reform to Gaming Law

HARRISBURG – The State Senate today approved legislation to better regulate Pennsylvania’s gambling industry, according to State Senator David G. Argall (R-29).

Senate Bill 1088, sponsored by Sen. Jane Earll, would make numerous changes to the law regulating casinos in Pennsylvania, re-establishing the prohibition on political campaign contributions by individuals and entities subject to the Gaming Act, and tightening the ban on felons receiving gaming licenses.

In 2006, Argall sponsored a new law preventing Pennsylvania casinos from taking advantage of Keystone Opportunity Zone tax breaks. The legislation was the result of Argall's Ph.D. dissertation at Penn State, which featured an in-depth analysis of the program. The measure was eventually included in the Gambling Integrity Act of 2006. This prohibition will remain in place.

"Our earlier law to prohibit campaign donations by the casino owners and operators was unfortunately eliminated by our courts. The last thing local people want to see is a flood of campaign donations from Pennsylvania casinos to political candidates across the state. I am very pleased that we have now corrected this flaw in the original law," Argall noted.