The Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed HB 2150, a bill that would regulate online poker, internet gambling, and daily fantasy sports

It’s the final countdown… literally. With just two days to go in the Pennsylvania General Assembly‘s session, the state’s House of Representatives passed HB 2150, a bill that would regulate online poker, internet gambling, and daily fantasy sports.

“Poker wins another round in the fight for our game,” Poker Players Alliance Vice President Rich Muny said. “We look forward to taking the momentum from this resounding victory into our Senate fight, where we will lead the fight for ultimate victory. The PPA will soon launch an all-new Pennsylvania Action Page, which will make it easy for the online poker community to take action, telling Pennsylvania State Senators to support online poker. I encourage everyone to be sure to take action to help pass this important legislation.”

“We’ve cleared an important hurdle and regulated iPoker is becoming very real for Pennsylvania,” PPA Executive Director John Pappas said. “We are in the home stretch and every contact we make with the Pennsylvania Senate brings iPoker that much closer to reality.”

Last week, the Pennsylvania House approved an amendment allowing internet gambling to an existing bill regulating fantasy sports. There was much debate over the inclusion of video game terminals, or VGTs, which were ultimately voted down. An internet gambling-only amendment survived and passed by a 115-80 vote. And just like that, the fates of online poker and fantasy sports were joined at the hip in the Keystone State.

On Tuesday, there was no drama and no debate. Instead, seemingly out of the blue, HB 2150 passed by a 114-85 count.

Speaking on HB 2150’s prospects in the Pennsylvania Senate, Muny said, “We think the Senate is shaping up to be okay, but there are no guarantees. We can all help ourselves, and our odds, by being sure to take action by telling the Senate to pass this bill.”

HB 2150 now heads to the Pennsylvania Senate, where, according to Online Poker Report, the bill could face some push-back. “In the past, we’ve seen powers in the Senate offer visions of regulated online gambling that clash in significant ways with HB 2150,” OPR said. “And as recently as a year ago, key voices in the Senate held material doubts about regulating online gambling.”

The budgetary benefits of online gambling and daily fantasy sports should be of interest to State Senators and Governor Tom Wolf alike. Speaking of Wolf, Gambling Compliance’s Chris Krafcik Tweeted on Monday that he’s open to internet gambling in a budgetary context, but only if revenue from it helps solves the state’s budget woes.

The Pennsylvania General Assembly is scheduled to adjourn on Thursday, although that date appears to be fluid.

Pennsylvania would become just the fourth state in the US, joining Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware, to regulate online gambling in some form.